


Lost in the Void

by PurpleRose244



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: A lot about Jay's real parents, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, But he won't be alone, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Jay and Cole, Kai and Lloyd, best bros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-06-15 04:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 82,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15404622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleRose244/pseuds/PurpleRose244
Summary: "It was stupid. Really, really stupid.But he could no longer look at those photos without feeling bad. So that was it. Two pressures, two little rips, and the figure of the autumn haired kid with that notch on his eyebrow was gone. Thinking about it, nobody in his "family" had those traits. At least one of his parents should had been born with ginger hair. But no, nothing.It was so obvious it made him cry."(AU where Jay didn't see a reflection of the future in the Tomb of the FSM, and Skybound didn't happen)





	1. Day One: "He IS Fritz Donegan!!"

**Author's Note:**

> When you think you're gonna just write a backstory kind of fic, and then suddenly you wanna add more angst at the mix because it's not fun overwise ^^" Or maybe it's just me :P  
> I didn't use Libber as Jay's mom's name because I wanted to make her a little more special, since I have many things in store about her. Trust me, no family in Ninjago had it easy, and I don't make exceptions!  
> Enjoy! ^ ^

"Ninja, we finally caught up with the training lost in the last weeks." Yeah, hard to train when you have a possessed green leader to save. "I'm pleased to see your progresses. For this reason, I leave you with free practice for today. Choose your partner and proceed by your own, until you think you have practiced enough. You are all experienced, I'm sure you can deal with yourself and…" He gave the master of lightning a glare. "Training with the controller it's not considered valid. Let's get started"

Jay sighed in defeat. It still was a good dream.

He looked for the others. Not even two seconds and Kai and Lloyd were already at work. It wasn't weird, their bond emerged more than clearly during the last weeks. He could go with one of the others, hoping to get quick with the training and get to his beloved videogames.

He noticed Nya. She seemed as undecided as himself.

"Hey Nya!"

Her new ninja suit really suited her, even if it lacked a little of the elegance of the Samurai X. Having her fully integrated in the team was still a new, but it was cool.

She smiled at him.

"Yes, Jay?"

"Wanna be together?"

The master of water made a gasp so loud the blue ninja thought she was going to sneeze. She looked around, making sure the others weren't looking at them. She brought a hand through shiny black hair. She looked uncomfortable.

"Jay, let's give up… we already tried that and it didn't go well."

The master of lightning blinked.

"I don't think I've ever trained with you." After all it was just a couple of weeks since Nya joined the ninja team. And even before he didn't find the time to practice with the samurai.

Nya widened her eyes. She blushed.

"Oh, you said… I thought… ahem…" She cleared her voice, clearly embarrassed. Her eyes looked away. With this shy look she didn't look like the same engineer that built so many amazing battle machines. She seemed more feminine.

But Jay was just thinking about his own words. Oh, crap. He felt a wave of embarrassment hit him. It was still so weird dealing with her! Not even two seconds and he already messed up? It probably wasn't a good idea pairing with her today.

Maybe it was too early indeed.

"You know what, maybe it's better another time." He looked around, trying to find an escape. "… Cole! Wanna practice together?" He left the master of water behind. That too felt weird.

The burden of a relation was incredibly heavy, especially now that he dropped his own. He kinda missed that brick on the stomach. At the same time, he was breathing more easily. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing, but for now it was good enough for him.

He felt relieved when the master of earth smirked at him.

"I'm in." He was already in position, of course. "Prepare yourself, Zaptrap." His pose was perfect. Even in his evanescent form, he looked perfectly anchored at the ground.

Jay attacked first. It was incredibly satisfying facing the black ninja. Because he was naturally the toughest and most resistant of all of them, except maybe Zane. Not to mention he was a ghost now, so even the most dangerous of the hit wasn't going to hurt him badly. The blue ninja could give him his most powerful hits, he had a brick wall waiting for him. He didn't lose time, punching his abs. It hurt his knuckles, like punching stone.

Cole left him attack, waiting for an opportunity. Then he locked his arms around Jay's, pulling him up and throwing him away. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Jay kicked the air around himself. He didn't hit him, or maybe he did. Hard to say, hitting ectoplasm gave a funny feeling. He didn't feel it, but at the same time it was like a cold tickle.

He took the distances, waiting for the other. Cole was on him in a blink. But the master of lightning was ready. His arms moved by their own. It was the base of martial arts. With every kick and punch there was a specific way to defend. In front of the head, protecting the chest, with the back of his hand. Hours passed fighting enemies automatized every single movement. At some point, neither of them needed to think about a movement to do it.

Against Cole in particular, precision was essential. Just one of his punch was enough to push you against the wall… and break you. With the wall. Confronting that kind of level, the blue ninja's mind was focused. It felt the danger.

A little survival instinct from training.

Jay repulsed Cole's kick with his block. He jumped away, bringing his hands together.

"Ready?" He started to create blue shocks through his fingers.

Cole created a rock wall in front of him. Then he broke a big part of it, holding it with two hands like it was some sort of rudimental shield.

"When you are!"

As soon as lightings started to strike, Cole managed to dodge them in every possible way. They were growing more and more rapid and precise. Sometimes they hit the shield. It was a precaution: the black ninja wanted to increase his agility without being toasted. Also, with that extra weight, he was training to get more fluid and faster.

Jay let himself go. It was so rare being free to use his elemental powers without limits. He always used them as fast attacks, the essence of the lightning. But it was a little frustrating. He felt so good while creating thunders and lightnings without stopping. Like screaming in an empty room, just for venting the throat. He wasn't afraid of making mistakes. There was a reason why he had been chosen to teach Lloyd how to control and channel the power, in the past.

He liked to be in control, precise. But running wild was a little pleasure he loved to take sometimes.

He felt fused with his element. Almost asleep. The roar of the thunder was relaxing. He felt like closing his eyes. He could see every lightning and where they were going to strike. It was like a shock right in his mind.

For a moment, he saw a glimpse of green.

Then, it exploded. He winced like he just woke up. The rock broken in the middle. The burn mark was evident, a small black smoke was floating from it.

Jay blinked. Did he just break in half a solid rock shield with a lightning?

He did, didn't he?

"… COOL!"

Cole had his mouth wide open. Then he smiled. He made an enthusiastic laugh, running towards the master of lightning.

"How did you do that? It was amazing!"

The master of lightning laughed.

"I don't know, it just came like that… eh eh, not bad." He watched his hands with satisfaction. "It must be due my... shocking personality!"

Cole facepalmed.

"Seriously?" Jay shrugged. "I'm gonna ignore that just for not smacking your head. That was really powerful though." The black ninja looked at his annihilated rock. "Never saw you doing hits like that. Can you do it again?"

The blue ninja hummed quizzically. He threw another thunder against the remaining pieces of the rock shield. Nothing more than a little burn appeared.

"I guess it was just me getting overcharged?"

Cole furrowed his forehead, concerned.

"Then maybe it's better not doing it too many times in a row. Come on, let's do some full body training."

Jay gave a look at his hands. Was he getting stronger? He was, right? He did train a lot over the years, even if between being a tv host and helping Wu with Steep Wisdom he got a little rusty. So, he was regaining his best form? That alone made him excited.

He immediately went in position.

"Ready!"

That was a relaxing part of training too. Weak hits with open hands, without strength, just technique and efficacy. The master of earth was, again, the perfect partner. Not like a dummy, those weren't able to counterattack. With him Jay felt constantly followed. He could show all his strength and, most importantly, speed, at the same time. Most of the time they were forced against subjects all muscled up, when body was the key.

Here, he was able to use his own particular abilities.

Cole stumbled with one of his kick.

"What were you talking about with Nya?" He accidentally hit him in the stomach. "Whoa, sorry! I thought you were going to block it!" Cole got closer, massaging his back.

Jay was holding his belly. He got distracted. Luckily it was a weak punch, of he would had saw the breakfast coming up.

"I-I'm fine, don't worry… you asked?"

"Nya. I saw you talking to her before coming to me. It's been a while, actually."

"Nothing much, I asked her to get together… for training!" He laughed embarrassed. "Things are still awkward between us, I guess."

Cole helped him get up. He watched him confused.

"And you don't wanna try with her? I'm not in the way anymore, it's just you on the field."

"I know, but I'm not sure it's a good idea." Jay breathed, feeling better. "I thought we were destined, but after all that happened… I need time to think about it, and it's not exactly first priority. For now, I just wanna put all the pieces together. Think about what I wanna do." He smirked. "Beating that rockhead of my bro at Fist to Face 2."

"Ha! You wish!" Cole laughed, patting his shoulder.

His hand passed through him. The black ninja froze, looking at his transparent limb.

Jay's smile fell. His eyes saddened. Lloyd being back wasn't the only thing they dealt with in the last weeks.

"Cole, have you… have you thought about how to tell you dad? It's been a while too…"

The master of earth made a sad laugh.

"Too easy. Hey pa', you know, the son that lied to you for most of his life just became a water-soluble ghost! You must be really proud!" He shook his head. "Absolutely no, my dad is not good at dealing with changings. It's enough he accepted me being a ninja when I went away from school, I won't tempt the fate any further." He was back in position. But his eyes were everywhere but on the training. His fists, clenched, went normal for a second.

The master of lightning furrowed his forehead. He got ready as well, without taking away his eyes from him.

"So you're gonna ignore him for the rest of you life?"

Cole glared at him.

"I didn't say that."

"Not explicitly, but…"

"I don't wanna talk about it!" He kicked the other.

The blue ninja dodged him without a problem, getting on his feet. He knew him, unresolved questions were hard to ignore. Especially when his problem was basically on himself.

"It's your dad, Cole, he cares about you." He tried to smile. "He won't stop just because you can see what you ate!"

"I don't know… it's not the right moment."

"Then when? It's been weeks, you haven't even call him!"

Cole rolled his eyes.

"Sure, because you are the expert about it!"

Jay made an offended sound, blocking an attack. Then another. And another one. He found himself on the defensive without realizing.

"Don't put it on me, it's about you!"

The black ninja grabbed his arm, quickly prying him.

"Yeah, easy lecturing the others! Are we gonna talk about uncomfortable situations? When are you gonna tell your folks that that "amazing girl" is not you girlfriend anymore?" He used it to slam the other on the ground.

The master of lightning gulped, hitting his back. For a second he felt the air leaving his lungs, for a little too long. He then inhaled deeply and got on his feet.

"That's not important right now!"

"It is! First tell you parents about something that bothers you, then maybe you'll be able to tell me what to do! Until then, be ready!" Cole summoned a rock, throwing it at his opponent with a kick.

Jay destroyed it with a lightning, furrowing his forehead. That wasn't what he had in mind when he brought in the subject. It was never what he had in mind talking to the master of earth, and it was always too late to realize it.

"Don't scold me about Nya!"

"It's annoying, isn't it? This is exactly what I feel, so cut it out!" Cole kicked the ground. An earthquake made the master of lightning lose his balance. The black ninja jumped on him ready to strike his fist. Only for a second, he didn't find him.

Jay rolled on the side, getting up immediately.

"It sounds like you're saying goodbye to him forever, it's ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous, that's the word! But you should tell it to yourself!"

Another, bigger rock. Again, destroyed.

"Very mature of you!"

"Shut up!"

Rock. Lightning. The master of lightning could feel the voltage increasing. With his frustrations. Like a reminder of their rivalry, in that precise moment the black ninja was the one Jay needed to disagree with. And he didn't even remember when they started to scream to each other.

With a little more of rationality, he would had found it really sad.

Rock. Lightning.

"Cole, come on!"

"Come on what? I said zip it!" Cole raised his hands, holding a rock bigger than him. "I said no! Drop the bomb about you and Nya, then maybe I'll pretend you're the right person to lecture me! Before acting like the "good one", try not to be a hypocrite!" As soon as he threw it, his eyes looked like he regretted everything that happened in the last five minutes.

Jay screamed in frustration. He was feeling his entire face on fire, and his hands like he needed to threw something, anything.

"That's it!"

He pointed at the rock. He used his power, at least it was what it looked like. He just saw the rock bouncing back to his owner. Cole was too shocked to react. Fortunately, the big stone just went through his transparent form.

He looked at him.

"How did you…?"

"All right! I'll do it!"

"What?"

Jay glared at him.

"I'll tell my parents I broke up with Nya, so you'll tell you dad that you're a ghost! Then we'll all live happily ever after with cleaned up consciences! I'll do it today, no, right now! Happy? Since I trained enough while countering you stupid fits of rage!" He gave him his back, leaving the training room. He was furious, almost couldn't see where he was going.

And it felt heavy. Because Cole was right.

How much time passed since he last visited his parents? He loved them, even so he always looked like the ingrate son that never finds the time to call them. And Nya… when they found out about their relationship, they were so proud about it. At least a year passed and he never even mentioned the situation, what kind of person he was?

He changed quickly, already less angry. It was a big relief, he didn't like feeling that way, especially after what jealousy made him do. An emotion only full of sadness and void, like he spent time and tears without an actual reason.

He wore his favorite blue jacket. He was ready.

"Jay, wait!" Cole grabbed his shoulder. Huh. He was getting better at controlling his arts.

The blue ninja didn't look at him, keeping the pout.

"What now?"

"You don't have to do this. I'll tell my dad anyway." Cole sighed. "You're right, I'm acting like a baby. I'm terrified about him rejecting me again… but it would be worse never seeing him just because I don't wanna talk to him." He lowered his eyes. "Sorry."

The master of lightning looked at him surprised. Then smiled. Of course. The black ninja wasn't dumb, unfair either. He was only unnaturally introverted, and it wasn't his fault.

"Don't worry, you're also right. Let's do it for real. I'll tell my parents about Nya, then you'll go to your father. Then we'll be both clear." Cole nodded happily. "Wanna come with me?"

"To your parents?"

"You saw them many times, didn't you?"

"Sure, but… never like this." Cole looked at his body, ashamed.

Jay huffed.

"You do know how _my_ parents deal with changes, do you?"

***

As soon as they entered the caravan, the Walkers gave them the warmest of the welcoming. Two big hugs, two big pats, and a broken conditioner on the table.

Definitely warm, if not hot.

"Cole, my boy! It's so good to see you again!" His dad looked a little confused. "There's something different about you, isn't there? Even if I can't say what…"

Cole scratched the back of his head.

"Well, Mr. Walker…"

"Oh, I got it! You lost weight!" The man put a hand on his shoulder, that went through him. "Unbelievable, you're almost inconsistent! What is your diet, son?"

Jay snickered. Cole laughed nervously.

"No, I'm… I'm a ghost now."

His mom made a curious sound.

"How did you do that? Ed should probably lose two or three pounds!… don't look at me like that, dear! I told you, a piece of my crumble cake after every meal is too much!"

"Then stop making it so delicious, honey!" His dad grinned. "Jay, son, did you eat yet? Why don't you join us!"

"You're eating this late?"

"I was working on something special and I lost track of time! Maybe just for a piece of cake, what do you say?… Edna, don't gave me that look either! I'll start the diet tomorrow, I promise! Let's just finish what's left, okay?"

The master of lightning looked at Cole, whose eyes were already shining.

"Well, it would be rude not to accept. Especially a cake… can't reject a cake."

And it was delicious. Buttery pastry, fresh blueberries and soft whipped cream on the top. They hadn't even seat down, next to the broken machine, and the master of earth was at his fourth slice. Jay decided not to question how a ghost could eat. After all he was happy he didn't lose his appetite.

At the Walker's house it was hard find a moment of silence. Jay was forced to wait a little. The only times he realized how people felt in his presence. It was kinda educational. At least until his dad finished his speech about his giggly compact convertibly compressor…

"… that will permit us to use solar energy! Interesting, right?"

"Dear, after a bit of maintenance we won't have a black out every time it's on!" His mom was stirring her cup of tea. "Jay, sweetie, you could stop by and help sometimes! You should have a while before the city is in trouble again!"

The black ninja laughed.

"You never know."

"Don't jinx it, Cole!" Jay inhaled deeply. "Mom, dad… there's something I need to tell you. I know I should've told you before, I wasn't sure how to bring it up… am I doing a Wu right know?" Cole snickered. "Well, whatever, I swear I'm serious!"

His mom looked at him a little worried.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine, yeah, it's not that. You see… me and Nya…" He swallowed. "We broke up."

He waited, holding his breath.

His dad waited. He blinked. Then snickered.

"Son, you're not underwater, you can breathe." He gave him a big pat on his back. "If you're convinced about this decision, we trust you. Clearly, she wasn't the one. You'll find someone else!"

Jay looked at them uncertain.

"You're not disappointed?"

His mom gave him a loving look.

"We like Nya, but you're the one who would stay with her forever. Whatever your decision is, we'll support you no matter what!"

Jay was so relieved he could feel himself floating a little. He smiled.

"Thanks, you guys!"

"Don't mention it, son! There are lots of fishes in the sea! You'll find someone else in not time!"

He giggled, a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, I think I'll take my time, I'm fine for now."

His mom looked curiously at him.

"You sure? Because I met this girl, Claire, during the rioting against master Chen. A cute girl, with a thing for the ninja. She told explicitly her favorite is the blue one…" She winked at him.

The master of lightning blushed.

"Mom, please!"

"At least keep it in mind..."

"Dad!"

"Sorry, sorry!". The man looked at the other ninja. "How about you, Cole? Someone in your heart?"

The master of earth gulped. It seemed like he lost himself for a second. He coughed a little, trying to avoid Jay's dad's curious eyes.

"I'm not good with love affairs."

"How so? You're so handsome! Are you hiding something?"

The black ninja quickly shook his head. Jay couldn't blame him, after the all triangle thing. And there it was, his bashful personality. He was embarrassed, but his cheeks were just colored by a darker grade of green. Was that ghosts' blush? It sure was interesting.

The blue ninja shrugged.

"I think Cole has something else in mind, especially since I've done my part. You're next!"

"Ah, uhm, sure." Lost again, was he okay?

His mom looked at them confused.

"Part in what?"

"In short, Cole needs to tell his dad about the ghost thing!"

His dad smiled.

"Oh, I'm sure it will be painless, your dad is a really good man. Every time we met him he always talks proudly about you! Last time, I think it was last year's Day of the Departed, he never stopped for a second saying how great his son is!"

His mom nodded.

"He even invited us to watch the video of you birth!"

"Dad, come on!" Cole grunted, embarrassed. "When I started to attempt to the Marty Oppenheimer he used to go around and show it to everyone! Like it was some sort of prize!"

Jay could see it. As soon as baby Cole was born, his dad giving him a trophy. It was a weird thought. But his attention was questionable, so he was going to forget about it anyway. What were they talking about again?

His dad laughed.

"I can understand that, it's the proof of you birth! If I had it, I would show it to all of Ninjago! Even beyond!" He raised his hands to the sky dramatically. "Every realm known would know how great is my son!" His wife clapped with enthusiasm.

Jay rolled his eyes with a smile. So embarrassing and energetic. So his parents like. It really felt like it was never going to change, and it was reassuring.

… wait.

"You don't have it?"

His dad froze. The clime changed incredibly suddenly.

"… what?"

"The video of my birth, you don't have it?" No answers. "You lost it? You forgot to take it? You accidentally recorded something on it?" Still silence, terribly unnatural. "Dad? Mom?" His parents became like two ice statues.

The man swallowed. He looked incredibly nervous.

"Y-Yeah, I think I recorded that football match. You know, Ninjago versus Bricksburg…"

"You don't even like football, you always say bumping against each other so violently it's a waste of expensive equipment!" Jay smiled. "It's okay if you don't have it, you know I wouldn't be mad! It's a pity, but you probably liked to watch it more than me." Even if he didn't remember even seeing that video… no. It was a coincidence. They didn't have to talk about this, just a word and the discussion was other. Because it didn't feel good.

He wanted to get rid of that sudden coldness. Inside and outside his.

His parents shared a look. They were visibly nervous and worried, communicating without talking. Nodding at each other. Sighing weakly. Jay gave Cole a worried look, the master of earth shrugged, as much if not more lost than him.

His mom confronted him first. In his eyes there was fear.

"J-Jay, there's something you should know. I guess we also never found a way to bring it up."

"You're doing a Wu too, mom. It's funny." Jay smiled. He moved his mouth. And it was incredibly hard to do it, when inside he felt like waiting for something bad to happen. What was going on? Why it felt so heavy? They were all laughing just a minute ago, why couldn't they go back to that?

His dad sighed sadly.

"I guess we were worried about how you would have taken. But there's no point into taking this from you anymore. The thing is… son… you're adopted."

For a moment, his mind went white. The photos on the caravan, the empty plates on the table, the smell of cake in the air. The faces. Cole, his dad, his mom. Everything was gone. A feeling of confusion and bewilderment. He felt distant, watching this instant slowly becoming a part of his life. For a moment, he felt nothing. Like not being a part of this.

Then, he was back, owner of his existence. And he felt not ready for it.

Jay smiled. Laughed.

"It's a joke. It's a joke, right?" His father… Ed's face was serious. "You're joking, right?" His mother… Edna was close to tears. "It has to be… it has to be a joke. You… you…" Then he felt it, the silence, and it lighted his anger. "You lied to me! For all this time, you said nothing but lies!"

Edna held a hiccup.

"We didn't know how to tell you, there wasn't the right time for…!"

"In all these years, during all my life you never found the time to tell me that I'm not your real son?! I always trusted you! I thought you trusted me as well!" The blue ninja punched the table. "I can't believe it! How could you do this to me?"

Ed tried to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Son, listen…"

Jay slapped his hand.

"Don't you dare call me like that!" He regretted it, as soon as he looked into the eyes of the man he thought was his dad. "I… I'm sorry…" Anger was gone, and he didn't want what was coming next. "… I need some time alone." He didn't look at them. Not his "mom", neither his "dad".

Cole tried to stopped him, he was sure, he felt his hand.

Jay got free and ran as fast as he could, from the place he thought it was his real home. He summoned his dragon. Then he flew away, racing against the wind. Feeling the hard breeze touching his skin and then flowing behind him.

He hoped the upcoming pain was going to do the same.

***

It was stupid. Really, really stupid.

But he could no longer look at those photos without feeling bad. So that was it. Two pressures, two little rips, and the figure of the autumn haired kid with that notch on his eyebrow was gone. Thinking about it, nobody in his "family" had those traits. At least one of his parents should had been born with ginger hair. But no, nothing.

It was so obvious it made him cry.

He didn't know how long he had been closed into his room. Probably a lot, because he heard Zane coming back with grocery. The titanium ninja always went for shopping an hour before dinner. He could hear the sound of the pots.

Jay lied down, between all the ripped photos on the ground. He closed his eyes. He felt empty. His cheeks were wet but it didn't feel relieving. Because the obviousness of the situation was paralyzing, and frustrating. The fact that something like this was meant to happen, but destiny decided this was the right moment, felt awful.

It really was just a matter of timing, after all.

Kai and Nya's parents were gone, Cole used to have problems with his dad. Zane's died twice, and Lloyd's sacrificed himself for all of them.

Why he thought his family was going to be different?

He fooled himself, thinking he was lucky, while he didn't even know where he really came from.

Who was he, at the end?

Someone knocked at the door.

"What?" His voice was husky.

"Jay, it's me." It was Nya. "Open up, we can talk."

The blue ninja sat down, looking irritated at the door.

"Do you even know what is this about?"

"Not really… Cole didn't want to tell us."

On one side it was frustrating, because it meant he had the ungrateful task of dropping the bomb. On the other… he was incredibly grateful the master of earth respected his privacy. It felt nice to know he was the only one aware.

Nya knocked again. Jay probably went silent for too long.

He sighed.

"I don't wanna talk now."

"Whatever it is, we can deal with it together. Come on, Jay…" He could almost feel her hand on his door. "Please."

Jay felt bad. Because yesterday he would had probably given up without a problem. She sounded so worried and kind. Who was he to go against the master of water? Something from his old crush stayed, after all. But he didn't feel like himself. He felt nothing. He couldn't even vent, his throat was burning. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore it.

"Not now, Nya."

"Don't you trust us?"

"It's not that. I don't feel like talking right now." He could feel one of the photos poking his side. "When I'll feel like it I'll tell you! But now leave me alone, all of you!" He raised his voice. Because he was angry, confused. He wasn't as smart as he thought, his life was not what he thought it was.

Why did he have to restrain himself, when he felt like exploding inside?

Nya knocked again. Another long silence?

"Jay, I don't feel like leaving you like this. I promise I'll give you your time, but first can I bring you something?"

It really burnt.

Jay swallowed. It hurt.

"I don't need anything. I… I don't…"

"Jay… I wanna help you."

The master of lightning screamed. She was so heartfelt, so close, but her kindness felt like burns and he couldn't bear it.

"I said leave me alone! Didn't you hear me?" He punched the ground. "I don't wanna see anybody, not you, not the others! I just want to be alone! Got it? Try to accept that, instead of just getting around the problem like you always do!" He didn't feel regretful about his words. His mind was closed. His eyes were cloudy. Maybe a satisfying crying was finally coming.

Nya made a loud gasp.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Too late to go back.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe if you decided between us, instead of just enjoying the sight of me and Cole fighting each other for you, I wouldn't have passed an entire year closed in a bunker of business and guiltiness!" He got up, kicking the door.

He felt Nya backing away.

"I'm not here to talk about that!"

"Are you gonna run as you did nothing?"

She hesitated for a second, like everything was bewiled.

"I know I haven't been honest and I regret it, but it's not my fault you were so jealous you couldn't see! You didn't even respect my time for making a decision!"

"I was in love! You didn't respect me!"

"It's not true! Why are we even talking about this? I'm trying to help you!"

Jay made a sad and cruel laugh, his throat feeling worse.

"See? You're doing it again! Avoiding the problem! And just for a stupid machine!"

"It was only an incentive! I had doubts about us even before that!" This time Nya screamed. "That's it! I don't know what happened, and whatever it is I'm sorry about it, but it's not a good reason to put it on me! Bye, Jay!" She walked away. Her steps were heavy. A door was slammed in the distance.

The blue ninja sat near the door, back on the wall. He touched his cheeks. Still wet. But his throat felt awful. What did he have to do to cry and feel better? He didn't want to worry the others. He already knew, after getting himself together, he was going to apologize to Nya. Because he was wrong, so wrong.

But not now. He still didn't feel guilty, not even whole.

He stayed still. One of the photo was under his feet. It was one of his birthday, probably the fifth. He remembered it, because he had the famous notch on his eyebrow. Dad… Ed, told him he got it while playing with the junk. From that moment mom… Edna, put some barriers in front of the dangerous stuff, until he was old enough.

Jay wondered if that was a lie too.

He sighed. He didn't want to stay in his room. It felt frustrating.

But where to go in the evening, without getting caught?

***

-"Fear? Fear isn't a word, where I come from!"-.

Fritz Donegan was his savior. Looking like that, without fear while facing the space cobras' army, made him feel braver as well. It was weird going to the cinema without popcorn, he never did that. But he really wasn't hungry. His legs were completely relaxed. The new trilogy's marathon was far from over.

The classic junk sequel, that was why there were just five other people there.

Jay closed his eyes. He knew this movie by heart. Punch to the right, mortal jump, punch to the left, here comes the laser, shot aimed to the ship that was going to blow up. Boom. Without looking back, of course. He lost hours rewatching the Starfarer saga when he entered the tv business.

A way like another to forget the solitude.

He instinctively searched for popcorns, even if he didn't buy them.

"Samurai in space still makes no sense to me."

He almost choked when he found them, and not only.

"Cole?!"

"Silence!" Was that a joke? The couple of guys in the first line looked like the ones they met the first time they went to watch the movie together. Funny look, maybe they weren't from here.

Or maybe they were, they didn't look completely foreign for him.

Cole snickered, covering his mouth with a hand of popcorn.

"Ever get that feeling of déjà-vu?"

"Shut up Tracer! I mean! Urgh! What are you doing here? No, wait, how did you find me?"

He shrugged.

"A Starfarer marathon far away from the bounty? Easy enough."

"I could've been everywhere!"

"I couldn't be called your friend I couldn't find you. Popcorns?" Jay shook his head. "So, how come you decide come here specifically? You probably already watched them at least a hundred of times each one." He looked uninterested. But he was also there.

It felt nice, the thought that he would had always be able to find him.

The master of lightning smiled weakly.

"I guess… this is the only constant I have left. You know, it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, he's always there. Doing the same things, with the same undoubtful moral." He felt his eyes on him. "Don't start."

"Yeah, you had it coming. So, I'm gonna avoid to tell you to consider your parents just the people that raised you, because I think right now it's not first priority." Cole smiled slightly. "I won't say things like "I know how you feel" or "I know how you should deal with it", because it's a bunch of baloney. All I can say is that you have every right to feel bad about this. The least I can do is help you out, with whatever decision you're gonna make."

Jay looked at him a little reluctant.

"… what if I want to avoid Ed and Edna, for a while?"

"Can't say I agree, but I understand."

"Can we keep it from the others, at least until I'm ready?"

"Wish we don't have to, but I'm with you."

"What if… I want to find them. What if I want to find my real parents, wherever they are, to find out why they… abandoned me?" His throat felt suddenly better. His eyes were hot. Finally, the relief melted on his cheeks. He wasn't sobbing. It was like a dam that opened slowly.

Cole looked at him, a little taken back. He patted his shoulder, smiling softly.

"I would be there. By the way." He gave him something, a key and a note. "Mr. and Mrs. Walker gave me these things. The day when they found you, at their door, you had it on you."

Jay's hands were shaking. It was an address, written with precision. And a key, a little rusty, maybe from humidity. It was raining that day? Or there was another reason?

He had so many questions.

"Would you come with…?" The blue ninja looked at the master of earth. He was a ghost, an introverted that feared his dad's judgement. Even so, only a look was needed, to feel all his support. The strength of a mountain.

Cole winked at him

"You don't have to ask, Motor Mouth." One of the movies ended in that moment. "Well, if you don't wanna stay here for the next four hours, how about we grab something to eat before heading there? Those popcorns just made me hungrier! Pizza? Noodles?"

Jay laughed. He wiped his tears. For the moment, the void inside him could wait. He could pretend that, at least for now, his life was still full of certainties.

"How about a cake? My treat."

"Have I ever told you you're my best friend?"

***

"It's definitely too late, they are probably having dinner! What if I'm disturbing?"

"Can you stop being paranoid for a sec? At least until I digest!" Cole huffed, licking away a little spot of chocolate on his cheek. "Besides, there's no point into worrying, it could be anything. We can only wait and see."

Jay sighed. His dragon slowed down a little. Right after eating, they decided to get to the address, without even telling the others. Everything felt so fast and sudden he felt the nausea.

"I-I don't know if I'm still up for it."

The black ninja snickered, speeding up.

"That's why I'm here!" He got close to his friend, pushing his dragon a little before getting full speed. "The last to arrive won't become the green ninja!"

The master of lightning laughed. It felt like it had been centuries since those days.

"It won't be me!" As always, in a good or bad way, that ghost was always able to ignite something in him.

Even with equal powerful elemental dragons, Jay's was always the fastest one. The blue ninja landed with all the time in the world, making his creature disappear.

The master of earth got to him with a pout on his face.

"How come you're the sad one, and yet I lost anyway?"

Jay snickered.

"Because you're a Dirtclod, that's why!… whoa." Now that was a residence.

It was getting extremely late. But the house was on a hill with a great view, like some big celebrity's home. The evening made all the area shining in an orange and purple light. Other the gate there was a little green garden full of tall trees, crossed by a rock path. The face of the residence was modern and elegant, like it had been designed with a lot of attention.

Suddenly the blue ninja felt out of place.

Cole pushed him forward.

"Come on! We're here for this, right?"

"I'm starting to wondering if this is a good idea." Jay swallowed hard. "I mean, what if they abandoned me for a reason? Maybe they didn't want me, maybe they didn't like me…"

"There's no way they…! I mean!" The master of earth shook his head. "They left you key and address, I'd say it's a weird way to tell "we don't want you". Don't get to conclusions right away, it's always your problem! Just go inside and let it be over with. It's going to be fine."

The master of lightning hesitated. Then he inserted the key.

The gate opened without a sound, like it was brand new and incredibly well maintained. After the nice-looking little forest, they were in front of the door. Jay found hard putting his hand on the golden doorknob. He felt like, as soon as he opened, there was no coming back. He was there to know the truth. To complete that part of his life.

Everything was going to change. So he did.

The intern was luxurious too, full of light and with the perfect temperature. The hall looked like the setting of a movie, with the rich man slowly coming down the stairs with a glass of wine in the hand. Carpets, pictures, everything looked so expensive the blue ninja feared that even breathing was going to break something.

The living room had a gigantic plasma television and a navy velvet sofa. Jay felt more nervous at every look he gave to that place. His parents really lived here?

"Jay, look at this!" Cole was in front of a statue of Fritz Donegan, with his classic pose. "Your parents must be fans of him as much as you! That explains a lot!"

Jay smiled, but then immediately frowned.

"And yet so little. Where are they? Maybe it's not the right moment, maybe I should've come another time! Or at least I should've knocked…"

"I hoped it was clear, that you were welcomed to come back any time. I'm happy you chose today." The two ninja gulped, facing the man.

Jay froze. He looked at the statue. Then at the person in front of him, smiling. That was way beyond everything he expected. That was a dream.

The realization made him slowly smile wider and wider.

"My dad is not a fan of Fritz Donegan… he is Fritz Donegan!" He couldn't keep a scream of happiness. That was his hero, his idol, his obsession since Lloyd presented him and made him a fan of Starfarer. That guy, was his biological dad.

Fritz Donegan giggled.

"Actually, I prefer Cliff Gordon." He extended his hand to him. "I would say it's a pleasure to meet you but telling that I acknowledged the existence of the blue ninja only now would be lying. So, I can only say it's good to finally talk to you." He had an incredible poise and an elegant and relaxed attitude. They didn't have much in common on a first look.

Of course, the master of lightning couldn't care less at the moment.

"Oh jeez! Oh man oh my oh crap! I can't believe it's happening!" He shook his hand delicately, like he feared he could break it. "Fritz! I mean, Cliff! It's a pleasure to meet you! Ah, I can't believe it!" He let go when he realized his hands were sweating horribly. "Sorry, eh eh… sorry." He scratched the back of his head.

Cliff smiled.

"No need to apologize." He looked at Cole. "I see you have company. Master of earth, isn't it? It's an honor meeting you as well." He extended his hand to him.

The black ninja's face went dark since Cliff arrived, now that Jay realized. Cole hesitated before grabbing his hand. At first try it went through, Cliff shuddered but didn't say anything. Eventually they managed to shake hands, but without a word. It felt like there was some unnamed tension between them… but Jay's best friend was shaking his idol slash dad's hand.

The master of lighting was way too distracted from that to pay attention.

"Man, I have so many questions! Are you really this wealthy? What did you do before Starfarer? Would I offend you if I take some photos with you and this statue? Is this cologne I smell? How beautiful this house is on a scale on one to one hundred? Do you have a butler? And… and…" Jay's smile fell. "… why did you abandoned me?"

Everything was beautiful. A dream.

Then why it hadn't been his from the start?-.

Cliff lowered his eyes. Without his poise he looked way more tired. His skin was lucid and his eyes a little irritated. Maybe he was older than how he looked.

"You have every right to have your answers. Can we sit?" He pointed at the sofa.

Jay sat in the middle, it was unbelievably comfy. It could had been his favorite place for videogames. Cole sat near him. He weighted nothing.

Cliff was on the armchair. He looked at the black ninja.

"May I offer you something?"

"Ah, I'm good." Jay looked at Cole, who shook his head. "We both are." They did have dinner, but it was weird that the master of earth didn't try for an extra piece of cake.

Cliff nodded slowly.

"Maybe we should discuss in private. You know, family business." Maybe there really was a bit of hostility, but it wasn't first priority right now.

The master of lightning smiled.

"He's part of my family, in fact." Cole gave him an affectionate look.

Cliff didn't insist. His hands were on his knees, skinny and pretty pale. It was the first time Jay saw them, since in his movies he usually wore gloves.

"I… I'm not sure how to…"

Jay laughed nervously. It was indeed hard to start.

"We can start step by step! For example… ah, was my name supposed to be Jay?"

Cliff hesitated. Then smiled.

"I should've been Jason. My great grandpa's name, you know."

"Jason. Jason Gordon. Sounds good!" Jay looked at Cole.

The master of earth gave him that look. Like he was extremely reluctant to agree, but at the same time he didn't want to spoil this for him. He was introverted, but they knew each other well.

"It's not… bad. I'm just used to Jay Walker, so."

Jay nodded, feeling guilty now. He was going to deal with Ed and Edna later.

"Do you know my foster parents?"

Again, he hesitated a little.

"Not by person, but I knew about a lovely couple in a junkyard."

"How come I have this hair?"

"The truth? I have no idea." Cliff laughed. "It shouldn't be possible, with me having dark and her…" He stopped.

Jay didn't want to jump into that topic yet. Especially since it didn't take a genius to imagine what happened. No photos around, no mention whatsoever until now. But he was there to know.

"So… my mom is…?"

Cliff looked at him. He sighed.

"As well, I have no idea. When my career started, it was difficult to deal with our relation. We didn't even get married. When we had you, we were forced to choose what to do. She was convinced I wouldn't have found the time to take care of you. I was sure about the opposite. We argued a lot in that period, that was our last discussion. The only one we never resolved." He looked at the ground. "He called me selfish, she took you and left. I never saw her again."

Jay was speechless. His mother stole him from his father? That was how it went? How did he end up at the junkyard? Why in a junkyard, with all the places? Why he was starting to understand, and yet the crater inside him was getting bigger?

He swallowed. He didn't feel better.

"Why do I have your address?"

"… you had one year, you were starting to crawling. You were so fast we lost you in a second." Cliff smiled a little. "So I started to leave key and address with you in any moment. I know it was a dangerous idea, but the first time we almost had a heart attack… for once, it was useful."

Jay nodded. The atmosphere was getting heavier on his shoulder. At this point he could only ask what bugged him since he first realized the situation.

"How… how was my mom?"

Cliff blinked. His eyes shined. This time, he looked younger.

"Her name was Lynn. She was the funniest, strongest and smartest woman I've ever met. She was like a goddess, beautiful and terrible… but only on the battlefield. It was also how I recognized you." He sighed. "I met her a little before the Serpentine War. She looked lost, without a meaning. I showed her my favorite places at Ninjago City, but she wasn't impressed. She said it didn't look real, everything was too artificial."

Jay smiled.

"I didn't inherit that."

"Then, when we started to travel in the wildest places of Ninjago, something clicked. She was brave, energetic, she loved to move and live. She wanted to make every single moment special, to make it inerasable from the memory. She was magical. Joy, happiness… when she left, she took them from me."

The master of lightning breathed. Everything he was learning was starting to get heavy. Having Ed and Edna as parents was never a problem. Here, there wasn't a word where he could find comfort. Every memory was like a vanished dream.

His mother left, his father was broken.

Who was he, then?

He opened his mouth, asking more, needing more, but Cole interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gordon. But I think that's enough."

Jay looked at him.

"But…!"

"You shouldn't insist the first day, take it easy. These are a lot of information. Besides, we're lucky Nya or Zane didn't hack some cameras to follow us, since we didn't even tell where we were going!" Cole got up. "Thanks for the hospitality… I guess."

Cliff had a moment of blankness. Then nodded.

"It's true, Jay. You can always come later, tomorrow, whenever you want." He smiled at him. "It's your home after all. It's were you would've grown up."

Jay forced a smile. Every word was like being stabbed.

Words of a life that was never going to be his again.

Cliff leaded them to the door, with a hand on his son's shoulder. Jay didn't know how to respond. He liked that he was trying to be more affectionate. But at the same time, he didn't feel completely okay with it.

Jay didn't even know how to say bye.

"Uhm, see you later… dad."

Cliff shook his head.

"Don't force it. Call me Cliff until you'll feel comfortable."

The master of lightning sighed in relief. He respected his times, and he looked like a good person. It was enough, at least for now.

The two ninja left the residence, walking outside the gate. The evening was almost night, from that distance they could see the lights of Ninjago City. The residence looked like it had been positioned to be watching the city from afar.

As soon as they were farther, Cole sighed.

"I don't wanna tell you this." Jay raised an eyebrow at him. "… I don't like that Cliff. At all."

The blue ninja blinked.

"Excuse me?"

The master of earth crossed his arms.

"It's something he said, or did, or the way he said it or did it! The point is that I don't trust him. I'm not sure he is who he said he is… don't gave me that look! I wouldn't have talked if I wasn't sure, you have to believe me!"

Jay could barely contain his incredulity.

"We talked to him for, like, a quarter of an hour!"

"I have good instincts and you know it. Also, who leave an address and a key on a baby? And where, in the diaper? He's hiding something, I think you should be careful. Or at least, you should take one of us every time you come here." Cole summoned his elemental dragon, petting his face like he used to with Rocky.

The master of lightning laughed, incredulous.

"You just asked me to bring a bodyguard to see my dad! Come on, it's ridiculous!"

"Just saying, our resident green ninja's dad was the king of darkness…"

"Cliff Gordon is not Lord Garmadon, Cole! I can't believe it, I finally found out where I came from and who gave birth to me, and not even two minutes later you accuse him of murder!"

Cole rolled his eyes.

"It's not that, but…"

"But what?"

"… aren't you putting too much into this?" He smiled kindly at him. "I'm happy for you, I swear. But today you found out you're adopted and your father is a rich actor with a beautiful residence and a mysterious lost partner. It's all exciting, all great, but also really quick. I just don't want you to be disappointed at the end, if this turns out to be just a fairy tale."

Jay stared at him, a little surprised. He looked really worried. Over a simple feeling? Maybe he needed to put a little more thought in all this situation.

"Okay, I get it, but you don't have to be this worried."

Cole breathed, scratching the back of his head.

"I'm not. I know you can take care of yourself. I just want everything to be okay."

The blue ninja smiled. That was his best friend.

The black one said nothing for a while. He seemed to lost himself a lot lately, maybe it had something to do with his ghostly form.

-"Guys? Are you there?"-.

After Lloyd's incident at the museum, Nya made some receivers in form of watches, for avoiding bad surprises and having a better way to communicate.

Cole answered immediately.

"Nya, what's up?"

-"Finally! Cole! There are problems in the city!"-.

The two ninja shared a look. Aaand, the break was over.

"What happened?"

-"You need to see it! Hurry!"-.

***

Jay was speechless. Cole froze as soon as they arrived. Not far away, Nya was also a statue. In front of them one the most horrendous creature they had ever saw.

With the torso of a normal person, long tentacles came out as arms and legs, with sharp claws at the end of them. Ripped off clothes covered his body, destroyed by the sudden appearing of those snake-like arms. Strident roars came from that thing, breaking the shopping windows of every shop that was facing the city central.

But it wasn't completely the appearance that terrified them.

The master of earth walked slowly towards the monster. He looked like he was going to throw up. Far away on the ground, there was a broken dancing stick. At that thing's neck, a red bow tie. And at the end, even with those glowing red eyes and the purple skin, the face was unmistakable.

"Dad…" He stopped. He couldn't move.

The creature looked at him, roaring lowly. Then he threw one of his claw on him, and only the black ninja's reflexes saved him.

Jay came back to himself in that moment. He couldn't be the one panicking right now, for once. He approached Cole's dad, holding his nunchaku. He couldn't even think of brushing him. But he needed to grab his weapon to feel a little more secure.

Nya was on his side.

"They contacted us telling the attack started at Cole's house, but then he moved here! I called the others, but Lloyd and Zane needed time and Kai didn't answer! Where were you?"

Jay shook his head.

"Long story, it's for later. Is that really Cole's dad?"

"It looks like it. If only Zane was here to analyze it…"

"Dad, it's me! Cole! Your son!" The master of earth was doing his best dodging all the attacks. "Can you hear me? I know I look different but… I was going to tell you, I swear! But even if I'm a ghost it's still me! You know that, right?" He tried to smile. He even extended a hand towards him.

Nya hit the creature in the face with her water. The roars that disintegrate the road missed Cole by a few feet. She then tried to engage combat, keeping him busy.

Jay reached to Cole, grunting.

"Not only we can't do anything to him, he just has to possess all those random incredible powers! Where are the times when we were the special ones?… Cole?"

The master of earth looked lost and desperate. He was watching his hands.

"He doesn't recognize me… he can't."

Jay gulped.

"You don't think…? Even if you were still human, that can't be why he doesn't see you!"

Cole gave him an angry glare.

"How do you know? It explains everything! He doesn't remember having a ghost son, because he doesn't have one! His son is human! I'm not human! I'm… I'm not…" He kept shaking his head, like he was trying to convince himself to be wrong, but not being able to.

Jay felt helpless. Why he couldn't be the great support the master of earth was for him?

He heard a scream. Nya was down.

"Cole, we need to do something!"

The black ninja gave him a miserable look.

"He doesn't recognize me, and I would never hurt him! What can I do?"

"I don't know, but… I don't know!" Jay gave him an unsure smile. "But we don't know what to do most of the time! This isn't the first time we have to get out of an uncomfortable situation, and won't be the last! The moment you think it's over, it's over." Jay gave him his hand. "You know that, right?"

The master of earth widened his eyes. He closed his eyes. And breathed, holding it.

"Ninja never quit."

Jay nodded.

"Ninja never quit."

Nya got up in time to avoid another claw, but she was still wounded on the arm. Luckily the second attack was intercepted by a wall of rocks. She sighed in relief, while the blue ninja came after and helped her getting up.

Jay looked really worried

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?"

"All? No, but I'm good enough." The master of water looked exhausted. "Am I a little off training, or the ninja kind of enemies are really this bad?" She wasn't looking directly at him. Maybe she was still thinking about their discussion, but she was mature enough to ignore it for now.

The blue ninja smiled, shrugging a bit.

"A little of both."

"Well then, back to training!" She charged the monster but was forced to dodge another attack. She splashed him with all the power she had, but suddenly she was slammed against the ground.

Cole stopped himself in front of him.

"Pa', listen to me! Listen to my voice! I know this isn't you! I don't know what happened to you, but I'm sure we can fix it!" He walked slowly towards him. "Can you hear my words? Focus on them, try it! It doesn't matter how I appear now, it's still me! Like it's still you, your tip tap lessons, your old-fashioned music, your lemon honey tea! It's you, dad!"

The monster stopped. He was staring at the master of earth. His tentacles were trembling, Jay couldn't tell if it was an imminent attack or an emotional torment.

But those red eyes were fading.

The blue ninja grabbed that little hope.

"It's your son… come on…"

The monster gulped. A human like sound.

The black ninja smiled hopefully.

"Dad?"

Again, only for reflexes. Before he could realize it the master of earth jumped out of the way. But he looked like he had been hit, hard, just not physically. His eyes screamed betrayal. He didn't look like he was the owner of his own body, his human and ghostly form kept shifting. A claw got stuck in the ground at his right. Another on his left, and also above his head. He was surrounded by tentacles. Too shocked and sad to do something.

One blade was aiming to his chest.

Jay screamed. Without sound.

It was like screaming, but he didn't open his mouth, his vocal cords didn't move. Still, the roar moved his stomach. Trembled his throat. Burnt with frenzy his skin. It made him pursuing his eyelids. It felt like yelling at full lungs, but without moving his lips. His energy went towards the outside. All his emotions fused into one.

Save him. Save him. Save him.

He felt numb. The crater inside him was bigger than ever.

A sequence of thuds made him opened his eyes. Slowly. He didn't pass out. He probably went lost for a couple of seconds. But Nya was looking at him like he just appeared. With his hands extended towards his best friend.

Then, he saw it.

The obligated weirdness coming from himself.

He was left mouth-opened.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?"

The creature's claws were still attacking Cole. But he was safe. Around him there was some sort of transparent dome. It looked like it was made of glass, lucid and transparent enough to see the black ninja's astonished look. He was looking at the stabs that could had killed him, hitting that surface apparently unbreakable.

And he created it.

Jay didn't move. He couldn't. Every movement could had broken that barrier. Cole needed that. He had no idea how he was keeping it on, and the terror of doing a mistake made the dome tremble. The master of water was the first to woke up from the surprise. She splashed the monster, finally directing his attention elsewhere.

Threatened no more, the black ninja got up. The dome destroyed by itself.

The master of lightning staggered. He was seeing double. No, triple. In the shape of three dragons in different colors flying in their direction.

He really was good at having weird thoughts, wasn't he?

"Jay? Jay!" Someone grabbed him just before falling to the ground.

Then, it was just the _void_ of his mind.


	2. Day two: "Just another day in Ninjago!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the notes at my story! Enjoy this new chapter :)

A dreamless sleep. Completely dark. Jay could feel the unconsciousness, being lightyears away from his body. But at the same time, he was looking right in that absolute black. All night long. Or day. Or whenever was now.

What time was it?

He opened one eye. The window was shining. He probably slept a lot, it didn’t look like dawn. His room was clear and full of sunlight.

Even so it wasn’t annoying. The blue ninja felt nicely rested. He yawned happily. His mind was still disconnected. He could barely remember yesterday’s events. But at the moment he didn’t want to concentrate. He felt good. He wanted to stay calm, for at least a moment. Pretending like that day was like every other, and the most significant event of the day was a challenge at Fist to Face 2.

The door opened. Nya looked surprised.

She had her arm bandaged. Yesterday came back full force into his mind.

“WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT???” His voice was already on.

Bye to the quiet and calm awakening.

The master of water didn’t pay attention to that outburst. She sat on the corner of the bed. She looked relieved, but also tired. Did she worry that much?

“How are you feeling?”

Jay blinked.

“… actually, really good.” He smiled. “But I would feel better if I knew what in the name of the first Spinjitzu Master happened yesterday.”

Nya sighed and lowered her gaze, rubbing her wounded arm.

“We asked Sensei. He has a theory, but he wanted to talk about it with Misako first… and apparently, he also has something going on with my brother.” She was kinda pouting. Of course, she didn’t like the situation, she liked to have everything under control. Besides, it was like saying the master didn’t trust them.

Jay snickered, imagining the scene.

“Let me guess.” He cleared his voice. “Pupils, there’s something I should’ve told you a long time ago!” He tried his best Wu’s impression, smoothing an imaginary beard.

Nya giggled.

“Cole said the same.” His best friend, ladies and gentleman.

Jay stretched his arms up, sighing contently.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Since you passed out? Twelve hours.” His jaw dropped. “Fortunately, the others arrived in that moment, so we managed anyway.”

Jay darkened. It was coming back in pieces, he just remembered one of the worse of them.

“How about Cole’s dad?”

Nya looked extremely uncomfortable. That wasn’t a good sign.

“He didn’t turn back to normal, so he’s under observation at the Kriptarium. We couldn’t do overwise, even with Cole’s protests. Until we figure out what happened to him, we can’t free him.” It was rational, and she was a master in that. Even when her lips where trembling.

Jay could only feel bad. They needed to find a solution soon, for Cole, for everybody. And to do that, there couldn’t be any disagreement.

He looked at her. She had been so nice with him, even after his rant.

“Listen Nya… I wasn’t myself yesterday. I said some terrible things and acted like a real jerk! You just wanted to help me and I didn’t let you. I’m really sorry.”

Nya seemed surprised. She smiled.

“It’s okay, it’s also my fault. I should’ve known it wasn’t a good moment, you probably had a bad time… about that, can you tell me what was that about? If you want, of course.” She got closer to him, putting a hand on his.

The girl he used to be head over heels was sitting near him, on his bed, while he was barely in his pajama – he kinda wondered who changed it, anyway –; it was such a bizarre yet dreamy situation. But he wasn’t feeling all that excitement. A little of nervousness, he was still near a really pretty girl, and that was just him being him. He matured? He was going insane?

Jay ignored that thought. Soon enough, the feelings of the day before came back, and the heaviness in his chest made impossible to think about anything else.

“You see, I found out something… about my parents.”

“What about them?”

“… they are not my real parents.” He laughed hysterically. “I kinda had a breakdown, and also felt like an idiot for not realizing sooner! It was… so obvious…” He took a look at his nightstand. He was starting to regret all those ripped off photos.

The master of water looked shocked. She tightened his hand round his.

“Oh Jay, I’m sorry!”

“It’s not your…”

“It is! I knew something was wrong and yet, I decided to feel offended instead of helping you! I was unforgivable. I’m really sorry.”

Jay took a little breath. Confessing wasn’t as freeing as he thought it was going to be, it felt like the brick he let go just hit his head instead. But at least one was down.

“I wouldn’t have accepted somebody’s help easily. Thanks for trying anyway.” He smiled a little. “You know, I found out who my father is yesterday. It might shock you.” Focalizing on the good part of the situation. Positive thinking, as always.

Nya looked lost for a second.

“Uhm, who is it?”

“Cliff Gordon, alias Fritz Donegan!”

“Are you serious??” Nya laughed incredulous. “Your idol, Jay! It’s incredible!”

“I know! We better not tell Lloyd about it!” Jay winked at her.

The master of water froze for a second but then nodded, laughing. She looked kinda red.

Or maybe it was just him. It was nice, laughing with her without feeling the constant need to appear cool and fascinating. It was like knowing her again, maybe for real.

Cole entered in that moment. He smiled, then looked a little confused.

“Did I… interrupt something?”

Oh. They were holding hands.

Jay giggled, a little embarrassed, retracting his hand.

“Just trying to fix my brain after yesterday.” He went serious. “How are you?”

The master of earth sighed sadly. He didn’t look good; his ghostly form was a little dull.

“It’s not the first time someone’s father is being corrupted by the forces of evil, I’ll manage. And thank you.” He gave him a pat on the shoulder. “You saved me, back there.” A full pat, he really was getting better.

Jay shrugged.

“No idea how I did that. And you’re a ghost anyway, pretty sure it would have just passed through you.” He let the head fall on the pillow. “I just want to know how I did what I did, it didn’t look normal, not like I’ve ever done something normal since the day I’ve gotten into this mess, but it was definitely not my lightning, besides it was transparent and pretty resilient, it took all that creature’s attacks, it was like earth but way lighter and resistant and…”

Cole huffed.

“Jay, you’re blabbering again.”

The blue ninja stopped. Nya giggled.

“At least it means you’re good. Sensei said you are exonerated from training, so you’re free for the day. How about going to your dad? I can come, not every day you know something so famous.” She looked genuinely interested. More than usual. She liked the movie, but that was pretty much it. Jay wasn’t sure about the reason.

Cole blinked.

“She knows?”

“It couldn’t stay a secret forever!”

“Cole knew?”

“He was there yesterday when my… the Walkers, told me.” Jay smiled ironically at him. “You wanna come with us? Making sure I don’t die? And only if you permit it, of course! You know, I wouldn’t want to meet my long time lost biological father without my best friend’s permission! That would be such a dishonor!” He mimicked a hara-kiri with an imaginary katana. He didn’t even think about the former samurai nearby.

She laughed anyway.

The black ninja looked like a statue, especially his face. Usually it wasn’t that hard to read, not for Jay at least. Today they were in an alternative universe.

“Very funny, but I already offered my help to Misako, I’ll stay here studying her scrolls or something. Maybe we’ll find out something about that weird power you used yesterday.”

“In the name of Ninjago! You can read??” Jay laughed, even when the master of earth smacked him on the head. And wow, it hurt from him.

The master of water was smiling softly, even when Cole left them.

“You never change, you two.”

“What time is it?”

“Half past midday. You’re hungry?”

“A little.” They got out, going for the kitchen.

Nya crossed her arms.

“Zane’s not home though, apparently Cyrus is starting to make projects for Pixal’s new body so he went to his tower. Lloyd went with him, I think. Kai is still with sensei, talking about who knows what! It’s like everybody decided to just go without telling anything!” She was kinda babbling too, even if she was definitely not at his level. She probably had those thoughts in her mind for a while.

The master of lightning shrugged.

“Guess we are on our own, then. I can cook something.”

“But Jay, you just woke up…”

Jay jumped in front of the shelves, grabbing a spatula.

“I feel great! Ready and charged like a bulb! Get ready, master of water, I could surprise you with something special today!” He extended the spatula to her like a mic. “What is you order today, madame?”

Nya, sat down at the table, couldn’t stop laughing. It felt good. He wasn’t even trying to impress her. Impress who anyway? She wasn’t his girlfriend.

He really felt good today.

“Something… shocking, maybe?”

“Ooohhh!!” Jay thumbed up at her. “This is someone you can talk with! It’s on the house!”

They had dinner between puns and laughers.

***

Cliff was near the door, on a garden chair. As soon as he saw them he got up.

“You’re back!” He walked towards him, without running. He looked like he was thinking deeply about every single movement, like in a photographic set. They could take it easy.

For the blue ninja’s hysteric attitude, it was a real uplift.

He shook his hand.

“I didn’t want to rush it, but I wanted to know more! Without pressure of course, I don’t want to make us feel uncomfortable, I mean it shouldn’t happen, we are grown up people, we can discuss without having an embarrassing silence after every single question and…”

Nya nudged at him.

“Jay, you’re doing it again.”

“Oh, yeah, right.” The master of lightning scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, I do that a lot.”

Cliff smiled pacifically. Then looked at Nya.

“My, I didn’t expect you to present me your girlfriend this early. Not that I complain.”

Jay laughed nervously. It was still kinda weird.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I mean, she… she’s a friend.” He decided to leave it like that.

“… I see.” Cliff extended his hand to the girl. “Sorry for jumping into conclusions. As you might know I’m Cliff Gordon. You can call me Cliff. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He had a gentle touch, it was evident just by looking. Like he was going to kiss the back of her hand any moment. How from that ladies’ man came out Jay, the blue ninja had no idea.

Nya went quiet for a while. Then she just shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you too, I’m Nya.”

“Very well. Come inside, please, make yourselves at home. For one of you it is.” Hard to tell if it was a joke. Maybe it was. It would explain his discussible humor.

Really, how come he never realized his improper relatives?

They sat in the same elegant living room, but it was way different with Nya. Jay felt a little more nervous. He was in front of his dad, with a beautiful girl by his side. He didn’t really blame himself that much.

Cliff sat on the armchair, then suddenly got up.

“Can I offer you something, guys? A tea, maybe some hot chocolate…”

Jay looked at Nya, who nodded.

“I would go for a tea, thanks.”

“Me too.”

“Alright then, wait a second. I’ll be back in a few.” He left them alone, but the blue ninja could imagine what an amazing modern kitchen he had. The kettle was probably going to take less heating up the water than Zane reading a dictionary.

Jay looked around, patting on his own knees. It was still weird thinking that everything there belonged to his family. To himself. On the other way, Nya didn’t seem fazed at all. She really was weird, so lost in thoughts and not fully determinate.

He got closer.

“Something’s wrong?”

Nya gulped.

“What? No! Absolutely not! Everything’s perfect, don’t worry!” She laughed a little. And it was also weird, because he realized she was as bad as his brother at lying. Another obvious relation.

Jay softened his eyes.

“I know it’s not true. Wanna talk? You know I’m a master in that!”

“… you think I’m a good ninja?”

That was not a question he was expecting. A bunch of hypotheses behind that insecurity floated in his brain. Until he realized he spaced out again.

He tried to smile.

“Of course you’re a good ninja. I mean, you mastered your element and discovered you true potential in days! Do you know how long it took for all of us?”

Nya lowered her gaze.

“Is it really enough? You didn’t even have control over your elements at the beginning…”

“That is… true… but you’re still an amazing fighter and our official engineer! I mean, why would you think you’re not enough? It’s crazy!” From his point of view, she was the total package. Strong, smart, determinate, beautiful and independent. She was a constant, a guarantee. How could she not feel all that?

The master of water looked doubtful but smiled anyway.

“Thanks Jay. I just need to understand a thing…”

Before he could ask Cliff came back with a tray. There were three cups of tea and a plate with chocolate, cinnamon and marmalade cookies.

If only Cole came with them…

Cliff took his cup and sat on the armchair.

“So, where were we?”

Nya started drinking as well.

“Maybe you want to be left alone? It looks pretty serious…”

“Nonsense, my dear, I’m sure you’re very important for Jay. Also, it’s nothing I would keep for myself, not anymore.” Cliff smiled calmly at her.

Jay felt relieved. And confused. Of course, he looked like he has a soft spot for girls, but was that the only reason? He seemed a little more hostile towards Cole yesterday. It was weird. And annoying, a little. Or maybe he was just making a fuss about nothing.

The blue ninja grabbed a chocolate cookie.

“You told me about mom, why she left.” He started to munch it.

“Yeah, it’s true.”

“What was her job?”

Cliff smiled.

“You might like this one. Lynn was a cryptographer, she used to study secret messages and the way to code them to keep their meanings. She was an expert of puzzles, and had a deep passion for mazes.”

Jay smiled with enthusiasm.

“I love mazes too!”

“I’m sure she would be proud to hear that. It was almost an obsession for her, to every date she used to prepare a special path with many obstacles and enigmas, and only if I succeeded she would had left me decide where to go.” Cliff shrugged. “Never won.”

Jay snickered. She liked his mom so far.

Nya looked interested as well.

“Do you remember one of those mazes?”

“No, but I have something better. Everybody has their secrets, in this house. I have my room, she has a little something as well. This is how we used to live here.” Cliff got up, approaching on of the wall, near the giant television.

The blue ninja was ecstatic.

“You have a secret room?? Awesome!!”.

Cliff winked. He put a hand on one of the pictures hanging at the wall near the big television. He pushed on a particular spot, and it moved in. A part of the wall went back and scrolled on the side, revealing a shelf. It was full of puzzles, made of woods, with special locks, with crossed metal circles. Jay never saw something like that, he felt instantly enchanted.

He got closer, looking at his dad who nodded. He grabbed one. It was a lacquer box, made of blocks that apparently were supposed to be moved to form the entrance of a key.

“Amazing…”

“She travelled all the country to find them. That one was in a temple.”

“What temple?”

“Ah, I can happen to remember, sorry. She just liked to find new places.”

Another puzzle, made of metal. Two metal threads crossed that needed to be set free. He saw many of those things around, but that material… heavy and dark…

He widened his eyes.

“Deepstone!”

“You know it? Wow, you’re really accultured!” Cliff smiled at him. “I think this one was from a stand at Stiix.” Cliff grabbed a specific one. “Wanna try to resolve one? I know you are a mechanic expert.” It was some kind of little mechanism, made of gears. A little bottom put in motion a little gear in the middle, and apparently the others needed to be put together to be all in movement.

The master of lightning nodded excited. He sat on the sofa, to have Nya’s look too on the little thing. It was better with two engineers on it.

The master of water was amazed.

“They are really unique.”

“Lynn wanted them to be. Don’t be afraid, always risk, then you’ll live completely free. This was her believe.” Cliff smiled, closing his eyes. Sometimes it looked like he wasn’t completely awake. Then he would just get back his composure.

Jay was captivated by that object. His fingers were moving on their own, trying to get the gears to touch each other and moving. Once in a while Nya would point at one part, correcting the step to make him move forward. But there was always that gear unmoving, too far away.

He pouted.

“There’s always this one, even when the others are always moving!”

Nya furrowed her eyebrow.

“Maybe we’re missing something…”

“It would be easier if I could just take it away!… can’t I?” Jay tried to pull a little the last gear. It came off easily with a pop sound, like it was just a decoration. Then, the little hole left by the gear closed by his own, and the remained gears were almost singing working together.

Nya smiled a little.

“Wasn’t expecting that.”

“Risk and live free, I guess.”

As soon as Jay said that, the puzzle opened. A little door opened on the other side, something come out and feel between his legs. He grabbed it: it was a little blue velvet box, with a heart made of little sapphires on the top.

Nya looked sadly at Cliff.

“Was that for…?”

Cliff nodded.

“That’s the only puzzle I made myself, or to be specific, I commissioned myself. Never managed to opened it by my own, so it’s been a while since I last saw it. May I take a look?” Jay immediately gave it to him, Cliff took a peek inside. “It’s way lavisher than I remembered, even a little tacky.” He closed it, like he couldn’t bare staring at it for long.

The master of water shook her head.

“I’m sure it’s marvelous, especially if it has been made with the heart.”

Cliff gave her a weak smile.

“Thanks for giving it to me, guys. It’s nice, to have something so important back.” Cliff clenched his fist with the box, closing his eyes. Like he was trying to remember, to forget, or something else.

Jay really didn’t know. Maybe didn’t even want to know.

“You’re welcome.”

“Now, I know you’re here for me, but I’d like to know more about you too.”

“Me?”

“Of course. I know you’re a ninja, the master of lightning. I know you lived in a junkyard, and that you are quite the inventor.”

Jay laughed, scratching the back of his head.

“I manage, yes.”

“At least until something explode…”

“Nya!”

The girl couldn’t help but laugh.

“Just want your dad to know that you’re a genius, but still a human that makes mistakes! We should bring the others one day, they know more about your adventures. It would be like a family reunion, wouldn’t that be nice?”

Cliff smiled.

“I would like that.”

“Nya, no! Your brother would bring up all the embarrassing stories!”

“That’s not… okay, he totally would, but you kinda deserve that for keeping this from us! Now don’t let mister Gordon wait, you master engineer!” She was definitely enjoying herself. Apparently lately she really had a hard time baring secrets in general.

Jay huffed loudly. If not Kai, definitely Cole or Lloyd would come up with something. He needed to make the best of this moment to show his not-cringy part of his life.

“Okay, something about me… well, sensei Wu found me while I was testing my mechanical wings by jumping off from a building.” Both Nya and Cliff gave him shocked looks. “What are those faces? Of course I had a parachute! Come on!” They sighed in relief.

Cliff looked a little less lost. He was slowly slurping his tea.

“So this is how you met the other ninja?”

“Kind of. Cole was the first to arrive at the monastery.”

“Ah.” His eyes went dark for a second. “What else?”

Jay noticed. But he was way into his own words, like he liked to be.

“It was just he and me, then Zane came a little while after and we started training together. After, like, a month, sensei asked us to fight an intruder of the monastery.” He laughed. “Then we found out it was Kai, and we were his opponents for his final test. At that point we formed our quartet, and our first mission was to retrieve the four golden weapons! And while we were at it, saving one particular damsel in distress…-“ Nya gave him a playful elbow.

Cliff nodded while following the conversation. He looked really into it.

“How about Lloyd Garmadon?”

“Oh, that’s a story! You see he is, like you probably know, Lord Garmadon’s son, but sensei G wasn’t always a bad guy! In fact, when he was little…” A beep sound made him stop.

Nya jumped a little, looking at her receiver.

“Sorry! Be right back!” She quickly got up, running out of the room.

Cliff never stopped smiling. Then looked at him with knowing eyes.

“Are you sure it’s over between you two?”

“W-What?! How do you…??” Jay sighed, not like he had ever fooled anyone. “Well, yeah, it is. Life goes on, I guess.”

“I’m just saying, she’s really an amazing girl. She’s got beauty, smarts and manners. And you two look really nice together. May I ask what didn’t work out between you two?”

Jay swallowed, looking at the direction she left. He didn’t want to talk about it. But he didn’t want to hide it either.

“… it’s stupid. Really stupid.”

Cliff giggled.

“Love makes stupid.”

“Yeah, but I’m not even sure if it’s really the case. I got into this mess because I couldn’t bare losing her, or anyone really, while at the end… we broke up, and she is still with me. So, I acted like a total jerk with my best friend for no reason, this is how dumb I was.” Jay sighed. “The classic story, jealousy can be really heavy on friendship. To be short, you know Cole?”

Cliff stiffened.

“Yeah?”

But at that point the blue ninja could not ignore that anymore.

“Why do you always make that expression when I talk about him?”

Cliff cleared his voice.

“What expression?”

“The one! The “don’t say that name” face! The “I don’t wanna hear it” face! The “there’s something I don’t like about my son’s best friend” face!!” The master of lightning didn’t want to sound accusing. But he couldn’t really help it. Nobody judged his friend.

Cliff gulped. He sighed.

“It’s not… I… I’m sorry. It’s automatic for someone like him.”

“Someone like…” Jay widened his eyes. “Because he’s a ghost?!?”

“Jay, I…”

“How can you accuse him for something like that?? It’s not a good reason for…!”

“Jay!!” Nya came in that moment. “We need to go! Right now!!”

The blue ninja stopped. He felt the anger burning from his chest to his throat, pushing for going out. His father was looking at him with concerned eyes, like he wanted to speak but didn’t want to make things worse.

“What’s going on?”

“Kai called to ask where we were, but then he started screaming for help! He said he was having an awful headache, he could barely talk! I know my brother, he would never beg if he wasn’t in real pain!” She looked really scared. And she was right: if that hothead really pushed away his proudness for this, it was serious. They needed to go.

Cliff got up, trying to grab his wrist.

“Jay, it’s not what you think…”

“I don’t have time now.” Jay didn’t look at him. He just followed Nya outside the villa. Cliff didn’t follow them. It was both a relief and frustrating.

The blue ninja decided he didn’t care at the moment. He summoned his dragon.

Nya climbed behind him, hugging his abdomen. She still couldn’t summon hers.

“Something happened?”

Jay sighed.

“Please, this time listen to me. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Nya nodded against his back.

They soared, wind whipping against their faces. For a moment, Jay closed his eyes. He didn’t need to look anyway. The dragon was a part of his element. A part of himself. It was like being bigger and stronger. He liked it. It made him feel less weak. And more upbeat. He would have loved to just let go and reach the highest speeds imaginable.

But he had a bounty to reach.

The fresh air made him good. The anger was gone, he felt lighter.

“Is there anybody at home to take care of Kai?”

Nya moved again and shook his head against his back. It kinda tingled.

“Zane and Lloyd are probably still at Borg, while Wu and Misako went to the library of Domu to make some researches.” She sighed deeply. “The fact alone that he stayed home by himself should had given me at least a clue.”

Jay nodded. Then he furrowed his forehead.

“What about Cole? He should be home studying the scrolls.”

“Oh yeah, he said that… wait a minute, Misako took all her work with her, I saw her while you were asleep. He can’t be working on anything. And he can’t be home, or he would be the one taking care of Kai.”

Jay went quiet. He lied? And he wasn’t even at the bounty? That was beyond suspicious, it was abnormal. He was way too much dependable to say a thing and doing another, especially knowing there was just one ninja left at the headquarter. And what was the point into pretending to do something at home? Unless…

Jay stopped. They arrived without him realizing.

Nya jumped down immediately.

“… Jay?” He was still on his dragon.

“Sorry Nya, I have to go.” And then he left.

Whipping wind. Fresh air. Fused with his elemental dragon. Reaching speeds that made him feel free. Risk and live, like his mother used to say. He really liked that.

***

“Here comes another ninja! Would you look at that!” The guard seemed surprised, even if he was telling that for the third time. “Not to be rude, but having two big names of justice here is not good for the mental stability of our, uhm, “guests”. As we probably said before, here we try to foster an environment of encouragement!” Sure, because the sophisticated security system at the entrance was definitely a sign “we believe in you” as big as a camion. “Go on, it’s nearby the cage we used to hold Pythor in. You can’t miss, and since everybody kinda hate you guys here, you probably shouldn’t.”

Jay nodded. That place was something, even without that guard annoying commentary. It wasn’t more frustrating than all those guys insults behind him, though.

“Uta ka ta ninja!!”

“Like he said! Screw you, pajama-man!”

“At least let us insult a decent ninja!”

They were their historical enemies. They were simply bad and never got reformed, the last kind of people he should had listened to. But the ear was on them. That void inside his chest was back. It felt upsetting, like something was missing.

He reached the cell. It was made of some special transparent material, soundproof and resistant, so the constant whips against those walls produced just a rumbling sound.

In front of that creature, Cole.

He looked incredibly fragile. It was best to just roll with it.

“It became a touristic place, you know?” The master of earth gave him a surprised look. “I mean, it’s the second time we come here. We could start writing reviews, organize school trips here. It sure is educational.”

Cole kept looking at him, like he wasn’t sure about his presence. He wiped away some tears, even if they seemed more like wisps of white mist. Ghost tears? Hard to tell.

“How did you find me?”

“Wasn’t that hard.”

“I could’ve been everywhere.”

Jay smiled at the irony of the situation.

“I couldn’t be called your friend I couldn’t find you.” He went near him, looking at that monster vent against the wall, like a beast trying desperately to break free from his cage. There was still the appearance of the man that so determinately tried to teach them how to dance, and that felt even worse. Like some sort of parasite took control over him.

Cole put his hand against the glass.

“We usually know what or who we have to face, you know? We just need to do what we have to. Garmadon is back? Find the golden weapons. The Overlord awakens? Train the green ninja. Ghosts want to curse this world? Find the tomb of the first Spinjitzu Master while trying not to be killed by the master of wind!” He punched the glass. “It’s not easy, but at least it’s clear! We just need to go on! But now… I have no idea where to go. What to do. How to manage.” Another punch. “And it’s my dad in there, Jay! Why do I have to feel so powerless while it’s about my father? And I couldn’t even be sincere with him! I didn’t even tell him how I ended up like! What kind of person I am? What kind of son I am??” Another punch. Way weaker than his usual fists of doom. He kept his eyes shut, like he was trying to erase everything around him.

Jay saddened his gaze. But he wasn’t here to feel discourage by his friend’s condition. They didn’t spend all that time together for nothing. He got closer.

“You’re the ninja that hold the Scythe of Earthquake. The one that trained the green ninja with us. The one that never stop reminding us how special we all are. The one that always put the others before himself.” He finally found his eyes, lucid and tired. “The one that sacrificed his own body in order to help us learning airjitzu… or ciclon-do.” He feared it was too early.

It wasn’t. Cole cracked a little laugh.

“It’s not as catchy as you think.”

“It totally is, but that’s not the point. The point is… you’re in the most secured, full of bad guys, most dangerous prison in all of Ninjago, without the others knowing it, just to be with your father!” Jay smiled at him. “You’re asking what kind of son you are? The out of mind kinda type. The kind that would do anything to keep his family safe. The best kind, for me.” He waited. The black ninja didn’t have his quick reactions, and it just made him worried. He did good? He understood what he was saying?

Yes. Cole looked wasted, but he was smiling.

“Doesn’t sound bad.”

The master of lightning patted his back. It was usually a little cold, especially when the hand went through him. This time it felt solid, and warm. Like he was still human. He was trembling a little. But he looked way more relaxed than before. Their eyes met.

Yeah, he looked better.

Cole smiled, then widened his eyes. He was looking over Jay’s shoulder.

“Ehm, Jay?”

“Not now, Cole.”

“But Jay…”

“You’re ruining the moment.”

“It happened again.”

Jay diverted his gave from him.

“What happened agaWHAT THE HECK???”

Again, that barrier. It was on both of them, a perfect transparent dome. It looked even more glassy from this close, almost crystallin. The blue ninja put a hand on it. It was cold. No, warm. He wasn’t sure. It was full of little but complex sensations. Even so, he could feel it interacting with the void inside his own chest. He was sure to be the one generating it.

Cole was shocked. But he wasn’t looking at the dome anymore.

“I didn’t imagine the first time, your eyes…”

Jay blinked.

“My what?”

“They’re shining! Your eyes are blue and they are shining!”

The blue ninja gulped, looking at the dome. Like it heard his thoughts it reflected his face sharply. He really had two shining light blue eyes, globes of pure lightning. They were scary, like they were possessed. But weren’t that bad, he looked good.

“WHY MY EYES LOOK LIKE THEY’RE GONNA SHOOT LASERS???”

Not enough to prevent a panic attack, but still.

“Breath, Zaptrap, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“WE’RE SURROUNDED BY A BARRIER I CREATED WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING, WHAT KIND OF NOTHING IS THIS???”

“We’re not suffocating and we’re not in danger, calm down.” Cole tried to touch the barrier, surprisingly making it. “I can touch it, and I don’t even have to concentrate! It could be very useful, so there’s no need to be scared.” He seemed calm. The horrific version of his father was still near, but he was better.

Jay couldn’t stop admiring his strength.

“Okay, but… how do I make it stop? Uhm, hey? Power I didn’t know I had? Can you please let us free before one of us starts to feel claustrophobic?” He wasn’t, but you never know. “This won’t work, we need toOUCH!! Are you crazy??” He grabbed the arm that had been pinched. But the dome fell apart, broken in many pieces like a surface made of glass.

Cole snickered.

“I was trying to deconcentrate you!… hey, they’re not disappearing.” He grabbed one of the shards.

Jay looked curiously at it.

“Pretty sure I don’t have the control now.”

“Yeah, your eyes are back to normal.”

“Then why they are still like this?” He took it from Cole’s hands. “It looks like glass, but way more resistant. Never seen something like this, maybe Zane could scan it and tell us more? It would be more useful than sensei’s weird suppositions.” He still needed to apologize to Nya for getting away without explanations. In that period, it felt like he was doing nothing but trying to resolve problems. Like with his dad. And Ed and Edna. And Cliff.

Cole nodded.

“What are we waiting for? The sooner we analyze it, the better will be for us.”

“You wanna go now?”

“Yeah. I’m getting nothing standing here.” He gave a last sad look at his dad.

The blue ninja put an arm around Cole’s shoulders. It wasn’t hard touching him, he didn’t know if the ghost was concentrating. He didn’t want to think about it. He just kept going, surrounded by the enemies from a life spent defending Ninjago. This time, he didn’t even hear their insults.

The guard brought them outside. It was really hot in the Sea of Sand.

And the reception was horrible, especially in the Kryptarium.

Jay noticed more than one missing call on his receiver. One from Nya, one from Kai, three from Cliff. He ignored them all, sighing.

Cole gave him a worried look.

“It’s everything fine?” Jay didn’t answer.

He concentrated on the last missing call. It was painful reading “mom and dad”. He called them back. Not even two seconds and Ed was already on.

-“Jay, so… I mean, we were looking for you!”-.

It was really frustrating feeling them so distant.

“I’m sorry, I was with Cole. I know we have to talk and everything but…”

-“We do need to talk, but about the uninvited guest at our house right now!”-. Edna suddenly intervened. -“He said he’s your real father! Is this true?”-.

Jay widened his eyes.

“Cliff is there??”

-“He knows him, so it must be true. Put the rolling pin down, Edna.”-. On the background there were the upset noises of the woman. -“He said he needed to talk to you and didn’t know how to find the bounty. We hadn’t told him, we didn’t know if he was… well, happy to have resolved!”-. He laughed nervously. And it was the fakest laugh he have ever heard from him. It was painful. Especially after realizing how much they still cared about him.

Jay lowered his gaze. He didn’t let Cliff explain, but even if he was wrong what was the reason behind his behavior? He really didn’t want to talk to him.

But he was with the Walkers. He couldn’t leave this burden to them.

“I’m on my way.”

-“Splendid, so… uhm… Jay. We’ll wait.”-.

The call ended. The silence afterword was upsetting.

Cole seemed extremely concerned. He still had the shard of “glass” in his hands. It was important. And he didn’t need more of his family drama.

“Can you go talk to Zane without me? I need to go to my par… to… the Walkers.”

The master of earth nodded.

“No problem. Jay, you know we’ve got you if you need, right?”

Jay smiled gratefully, while the elemental dragon of earth was summoned.

“I know.”

***

The atmosphere was surreal.

Not only because he couldn’t recognize himself in the place he grew up in, but for the people at that table. Surrounded by a silence that could be defined embarrassing just for hiding a silent storm. When Jay entered all three of them looked at him. It was like standing between two worlds. On one side the always affectionate but distant looks of Ed and Edna, with a little of nervousness from the latter. On the other Cliff, that seemed on the verge of getting on his knees and beg for forgiveness.

He almost started, but Edna anticipated him.

“Jay, is this man really your “father”?” She spit poison on that word. Truly, the blue ninja never heard so much hate from that woman.

“Yeah, he’s… he’s my real father.” Jay sat near him. “Look, I’m sorry I left so suddenly, but did you really had to come here just to talk? I would’ve just contact you again, I just needed some time.” It was half true. He needed time, but probably not just a little. It was his problem, everything was too fast around him and he had to rethink about actions and words to understand his mistakes.

It took a really long time with Cole, after all.

Cliff lowered his head apologetically.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to rush you. I just feared that it would had been your last visit, and I wanted to made things clear. But I didn’t know where to find your ship, so I came here.” He bowed his head to the Walkers. “I know it was really disrespectful towards you.”

Edna huffed.

“You don’t say.”

Ed tried to cover it with a fake cough.

“Don’t mind! You were worried for Jay, we understand perfectly! Besides, we wanted to meet our s… I mean, the father of the boy we adopted, so you just saved us time and effort!” He was smiling. Still, he never searched for physic contact, like with a pat or something, a thing that was always normal with him. He was keeping the distance.

It was the coldest he ever acted.

Jay felt like he knew nothing about those people. He inhaled deeply to calm down.

“You wanna talk? Go on.”

“Now?”

“Now. I need to know what you meant about Cole.”

Edna almost jumped on her feet.

“What did he say about such an amazing boy?”

“Edna, calm down.” Ed smiled at her. That was it. No cheesy line, no sweet pet names. Not even a caress. He was serious. Too serious.

Cliff sighed, his eyes went dark.

“See, I have the reaction I have towards your friend, not because he’s a ghost… but because he’s a master of earth.” Jay looked at him surprised. “You surely already know about the first serpentine war, how in the alliance of the elements some members betrayed their comrades. It was Chen’s fault, of course, but that fact remains. One of Lynn’s best friends was the master of earth. He was the one that lead the rebels against her. They were mates, in life and in battle. Yet, he betrayed her trust!” Cliff stopped for a second, like he was trying to recollect himself. “This is why I feel hostile. It’s not about your friend. But I can’t stop thinking about how he has the same blood of the traitor that hurt my love. And I don’t wanna risk it. I can’t trust someone like this.” He looked way more tired than before. Like avoiding an explosion by walking carefully around the mine.

But it exploded anyway. In the sound of a slap.

Jay was speechless. Because it was Edna who raised her hand on him.

Ed grabbed her from her arms.

“Edna!! Are you nuts??”

“Did you hear him?? Have you heard that?? He’s judging such a golden boy like Cole because of someone else’s mistake!! He classified him as a menace, after all he has done for us and for all of Ninjago!! How can a person think like this??” Edna was out of it, her face was red and her voice raspy. “How did someone like him had a marvelous boy like Jay?? How can he define himself as his father!! He wasn’t there during his most important moments!! We were!!”

Cliff got up, clearly concerned.

“Mrs. Walker, I don’t…!”

“Why?? Why should you have this honor??” Edna had tears in her eyes. “You didn’t even try to find him!! You just left him!! Why did you abandon him?? He didn’t deserve this!! Why did you do that??” He raised her hand again. But no hit. She just fell on her knees, sobbing, while her husband hugged her from behind.

Jay didn’t know what to think anymore. Where was he? Was he really in his foster parents’ house? But that one was full of warmness, blabbering and love. Now there were tears, anger and confusion. Just yesterday they were laughing thinking about Cole’s dad’s affection.

He grabbed Cliff’s attention.

“Can you wait outside?”

The man nodded, getting out quickly.

The blue ninja took a long breath before lowering on the couple, that was still on the floor. Ed probably noticed his steps, but he didn’t react. That was the same man that got him out of a failed invention many times, telling him cheerfully that there’s always a way.

He looked so lost right now.

Edna was still crying, holding tight his husband’s dungarees.

“It’s not fair… it’s not… f-fair…”

Jay put a hand on her back.

“Uhm, Mrs. Walker?” No answer. “Edna?” Nothing. “… mom?” Suddenly her surprised gaze was on himself. “Are you alright?”

Edna looked at him in disbelief. Her eyes were red.

“… oh dear… oh dear, what did I say?” She put her hand on her cheeks, visibly dismayed. His husband guided her on a chair.

The blue ninja wanted grab her hand. He didn’t.

He didn’t know what to do. He grew up with those people, but that was too much. Too different from his usual life. Did he really know them? How did he have to act with them now? He knew his real dad. Was that even enough?

Ed read his eyes. At least that was a constant. He leaded him towards the door, whispering.

“Listen so… Jay. You’re probably trying to know more about this Cliff Gordon, and I’m happy about it.” He didn’t look like it. “You’ll be busy, we’ll be busy. So maybe… you shouldn’t come here for a while.”

It felt like being stabbed. It was rational.

It hurt madly.

“… okay. It’s fair. If you need anything, you can still call me, okay?” Jay didn’t want it to feel like a goodbye.

Ed smiled, nodding.

“You will be the first we’ll call.” He didn’t move. He just waved at him, then closed the door.

Jay stared at the closed door of the caravan. He wanted to go back in and hug them, telling how he was grateful about all the time they spent taking care of him. He didn’t, walking away. After a few steps the regret was already stinging inside him.

But he didn’t have the courage to go back. He felt like a coward.

Cliff was a little far away, looking lost and emotionless. When he saw him he reached him immediately, looking worried.

“How did it go?”

Jay sighed.

“They need time. I’ll leave them be, for a while.”

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“I don’t think there’s an easy way to deal with the situation. We’re all trying to handle it. But it’s not your fault, the situation just got out of hand. We’ll fix everything, eventually.” Talking felt wrong. Nothing sounded sincere. He wanted to scream, hurting his vocal cords. Vent at the wind everything he felt inside.

He didn’t. Instead, in his head like a mantra.

Positive thinking. Positive thinking. Positive thinking.

Cliff nodded. He grabbed a clothed handkerchief from his pocket, one of the hundreds elegant details of his suit. He gave it to him.

“Here.”

Jay didn’t understand. Then, a little drop fell on his hand. He wondered when he started crying, if out of the caravan, when he arrived or when Edna started.

He wiped his eyes. He could see more clearly.

“Thanks.” He tried to give it back.

Cliff smiled at him.

“Take it. Hopefully you won’t need it anymore, though.” He was caring, and kind. Always showing the best of himself, at least to him.

He could had been his dad. He was his dad.

Why it didn’t make him feel better?

The sun was still up, but Jay felt tired. He needed to come back to reality. Away from his family drama. Where he was a ninja, the master of lightning, an engineer, maybe also a joker and just one of the many members of a very unique family.

He needed to go home, but from how he felt his elemental dragon was hardly going to appear.

“How did you come here?”

Cliff took a key out of his pocket. He pushed a bottom, and outside the junkyard something responded. Jay ran to it and was amazed by the view. It was a beautiful sport car in a metallic navy blue that was reflecting the sunlight, with white wheels and silver rims. It looked like it just got out of a magazine.

Cliff pointed at the driver seat.

“Whenever I feel down, a drive always makes me feel better. Wanna try?”

Jay widened his eyes. He piloted many jets and vehicles.

But that car looked more expensive than all of those.

“I don’t wanna scratch it…”

“I drove it through the desert, that’s really the least of my worries. What kind of car is it if you can’t drive it? Come on, I know you’re a good driver!” Cliff opened the door.

Great, the seats were covered in leather. Where were the photographers?

Jay approached cautiously. He lowered his head more than the needed to enter. It looked even more expensive on the inside. The seat back was a little too close to the steering wheel, but he didn’t dare adjust it. Only when he was seated, Cliff turned around and positioned on the passenger seat.

The blue ninja breathed deeply.

“How much did it cost?”

“I prefer not making you uncomfortable.”

“Whatever, that answer it’s enough for my anxiety.” He put his hands on the steering wheel. “Are you kidding me? Is this velvet I’m touching?? No, aside everything, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to this car!”

Cliff snickered.

“Why are you assuming we’re gonna crash?”

“I’m used to that kind of drive that could force me to jump over a gorge in order to complete a mission! And I doubt this vehicle has a jet mode!” Even so, his father still looked amused. “Really, Cliff, it’s okay. I can deal with a little bad mood, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

Cliff changed his expression. He left himself fall against the seat back. His eyes were lost again, a little different from before. Like he was really, _really_ talking.

“… I don’t know about you, but for my experience, sadness doesn’t just go away. You can pretend it’s not there, even forget about it, but it won’t disappear. You know the worst part? Every time memory comes back, it’s like a slap, because you are not expecting it. It’s like living that sadness all over again. Mind tries to forget, tries to feel better. This is why remembering it’s so painful, sometimes.” His hand went on his chest. He had the ring chained around his neck, it was a circle of white gold with one precious blue sapphire and two little diamond on the sides.

The master of lightning swallowed.

Everything outside the car disappeared.

Ignoring his parents, the Walkers, because having them so far away made him suffer. Ignoring how Nya was slowly drifting away from him. Ignoring how he was voluntarily pushing away his best friend. Ignoring the atrocious feeling of losing Zane. Ignoring how powerless and pathetic he felt, when Cole became a ghost. Ignoring everything, because it hurt. So much.

But every time, it came back. Worse than ever.

Jay clenched his hands around the steering wheel. His throat was burning again. It was so clear and disappointing, realizing that he just made the same mistakes over and over.

“… trying to face the problem is scary.”

“Very true. Most of people prefer suffering.”

He swallowed.

“You know… we don’t have much time for ourselves. It’s like we could be called for an emergency any minute, it’s frustrating. And we can’t keep up with many important things in that way.” He sighed. “I don’t know, sometimes I just wish everything was good outside our battles, our cyclic fight against the evilness. In that way, at least we’d have a safe place to look at, even when we… when I, am really scared not to make it.” He was the one that talk. And he loved the sensation afterword, a complete feeling of relief.It felt better. And his dad was listening.

Cliff gave him a soft smile. It felt like something changed.

“You sure you don’t wanna take a drive?”

Jay looked at the desert in front of him. He had a bounty to come back to. A group of friends he still felt safe with. But also full of people he needed to explain things. And be on the open for those slaps of sadness.

He wasn’t going to avoid the problem.

But it could wait. At least for a few kilometers.

“… just one.” He turned on the engine. It roared inside his head.

Cliff nodded satisfied.

“I hope you like high speed. This car is a lightning.”

Jay felt a shiver. Pure adrenaline.

“That makes the two of us!” He stopped thinking, pushing on the accelerator.

***

“Two hours later, look who’s back!” One bedded Kai gave him a fake hurtful look. “You abandoned my sister at the door, and then flew away without telling a word! Even worse, all before saying hello to your recovered brother! Didn’t you hear my heart breaking, whenever you went?” He was seated, with two pillows on his back. He didn’t look like a sick man, more like a convalescent forced in bed without his consent.

Nya gave his brother a stern look.

“Yeah, keep joking around, I found you on the ground!”

“A headache, Nya! Like a brain cramp! I wasn’t that desperate, I was fine!… but it’s always interesting seeing your motherly side.” She gave him the thermometer on his head. “Ouch! What the heck, mom!” And another just in case.

Jay laughed. He felt great.

“And here I even brought some chicken soup.” He put the box from the market on the nightstand.

Kai raised his eyebrow.

“That’s for the flu, you know that?”

“Kai, don’t be ungrateful.”

“I don’t even like soup.”

“Kai!!”

The red ninja smirked.

“What? I don’t have to agree on everything, I’m not his boyfriend!” He managed to startled his sister, for his amusement. “… whoa, Jay! Did you fly in a tornado? What happened to your hair??”

The master of lightning touched his head. It had been probably that moment when, in an instant of enthusiasm, he opened the windows, tasting the wind. They basically devoured the Sea of Sand, then drove all over Ninjago City without precautious. It was a miracle that they didn’t get any fines. Not that his father didn’t have the money anyway. It kinda made him want to try and get himself caught. Not today though.

It had been enough. It had been incredible.

Jay grinned.

“Took a drive with windows down, nothing much.”

Nya furrowed her eyebrows.

“With what car?”

“Cliff’s car.”

“Who’s Cliff?” Kai gave them a perplex look. “Did I miss something?”

Before an answer could come the door opened. Lloyd sneaked in slowly, looking at the master of fire.

“How’s your head? Is it okay if we come in all together?”

The red ninja pointed at him, looking at Jay.

“See? This is how to deal with sick people!”

Jay rolled his eyes, while the other ninja came in. Zane looked a little distant. More than a zen nindroid already was. At least in his opinion.

Cole reached the blue ninja immediately.

“How did it go with Gordon and the Walkers?”

Jay gulped. There it was, the slap.

“Not… good. Not completely bad though, at least at the end, but not enough to make me feel okay with it. I don’t feel like talking, but I know you’ll take it out of me, one way or another.” I wasn’t that bad after all. With him it was absurdly easy to vent.

Cole smiled at him.

“That’s true, but for now we have something else to talk about. Apparently, Misako found something about your power… and my dad’s situation. She wants us in her room to discuss.” He looked less stressed. Still, his ghostly figure was blander and a little grey. Like he was going to throw up.

The blue ninja let him go on. He didn’t want to push, and while the masters of water and energy were trying to help their hotheaded brother – “I’m not invalid, I can walk!” –, he went to the silent robot, that still was doing even less noise than the usual.

They really did live together for a long time.

“Hey, Zane.”

“Problems, Jay?”

“No, no, just… it’s been a while since we talked, right?” He really had no idea how to start the conversation. “Uhm, between smart pals, you know? If there’s something you want to talk about… if you want! Like I said, time passed, it could be like old times! Me and you, lightning and ice, inventor and… well, invented.” He snickered a little, but he felt alone in it. No comment, not even on his blabber. Not that weird, it was still hard to crack that nindroid’s sense of humor, but those eyes were completely disinterested.

Even a little irritated.

“You said it. It has been a while. You may go back counting.” He kept walking.

Jay furrowed his forehead. That was unpolite. Way too much for someone like him. He followed his footsteps, noticing that he was trying to hurry. Like he wanted to finish whatever discussion they needed to have and then run away. Maybe he had something to do. One thing for sure, he did not want to talk about it. And he didn’t need more pressure.

The blue ninja scratched the back of his head.

“I don’t really get it, but… you know you can call if you need, right?”

The nindroid stopped. He sighed.

“Understood.” Then he went on. It felt like a whisper. And incredibly grateful one.

Jay sighed. He probably couldn’t do more than that.

“Don’t feel bad, I tried too.” Lloyd was on his side. “I have no idea what’s happening to him, he doesn’t want to talk since we came home. At least he knows he can ask for help.”

The blue ninja nodded.

Inside her room, Misako already disposed all the scrolls on the table, with Wu on his side. As soon as they entered the master looked up and seemed relief to see Kai as well. He must had been really worried.

“Are we all here?” Nya nodded, closing the door. “Very well. Misako worked hard on her researches, and we think she might had discovered something concerning the events of the latest days.” He waved towards her.

Misako put a hand on a scroll in particular.

“I thought it was only a legend…”

“Just another day in Ninjago!” Everybody looked at Jay. “… couldn’t help it, sorry.”

At least he wasn’t out of his favorite lines.

“As I was saying, it’s about one of the many legends I studied in the past, trying to find information about the first battle between the forces of evil and good. Between the first Spinjitzu Master and the Overlord.” Everybody felt a shiver, it was automatic with that name. “As you know, at the end the master managed to separate Ninjago from the Dark Island…”

“Since we are all aware of the legend, could you please get to the point?” Surprisingly, Zane was the one that interrupted. He really looked in a hurry.

Misako, a little confused, kept going.

“Well, about that famous battle, there’s something that always left me a little perplex. When we fought the Overlord, that incredible power turned most of the citizens into his slaves.” Cole and Jay looked at each other, remembering those scary moments. “At the end all of Ninjago was purified… but how? The golden power is not known to have this capability, or Wu would’ve been able to do it from the start, since he has some of it.”

Lloyd nodded.

“I don’t remember using the golden power to do that.”

“Exactly. This is why I assumed the existence of another power, that somehow can purify and defeat the evil inside people. And then, I found this.” Misako pointed at one scroll. It was a triangle, with two symbols on every angle. But the angle on the right was ruined, it looked like really old paper. The remaining ones were red and green, blue and orange.

Nya looked curious, just like the others.

“What do they mean?”

“This is the problem. I studied many different and ancient languages in these years, but these symbols are different. They are fusions of alphabets and ideograms.” Misako put her finger on the blue symbol, near the orange one. “The only one I found some meanings of is this one. It can be translated as “space”, “glass”, and “void”.” She looked at Jay. “My conclusion is that this is the power that you used.”

Jay widened his eyes.

“I have another element?? How??”

“The only thing we know is that this is not a common material.” Nya intervened. “Zane scanned the shard Cole brought back, and I did a little research myself. It’s impossible to find its composition, its components, it’s like glass from another dimension!” She looked oddly excited about it. Maybe because she wanted to build a new car with that as windows? Maybe she wanted to go back and be a blacksmith with that material?

Hard to say, no idea. She was looking at him a lot lately…

Misako sighed.

“We have very few information about it. We also don’t know how you unlocked it, or why it manifested just now. I’m not even sure if this could be called an element. The scripts in these scrolls are… complex. Projected to test whoever read them.” Misako went on another scroll, full of nothing but ancient language. “The only part I translated correctly is this one “in the chimera’s heart, pure one moment, will appear the power of the _complement_ ”.”

Cole furrowed his forehead.

“The complement? What’s that?”

“The purifying power. The one I assume the first Spinjitzu Master used to free the citizens from the evilness, and also the one Lloyd unconsciously used to save Ninjago. Sadly, we’re still not sure on many things, especially about how the “void” and the complement are related. Maybe Lloyd’s case was a one-time thing, and until I figure out what it’s needed to use this power, we’ll be on the dark.” She looked at Cole. “So, I can’t say if this is what we need… to save your father.”

The master of earth sighed sadly.

“Figures.”

Jay put a hand on his shoulder.

“So, all we can do is wait?”

“That, and pay attention whenever your “void” manifests.” Wu gave him a serious look. “It could be very important, so you need to tell us every time, Jay.”

The blue ninja nodded.

Wu hit the ground with his stuff.

“It’s all. We’ll keep you updated, and as soon as we find out something we’ll tell you.” He looked at Cole. “We’ll do anything in our power. I can promise you this.” His old eyes were incredibly determinate. He was the warrior that defended this realm way before them, after all.

The black ninja smiled. But Jay could read him miles away, and probably wasn’t the only one. But Zane was already gone, Nya helped Kai back in his room and Lloyd went to Misako to discuss. There was just the two of them left. But talking meant confessing everything that happened that day. He didn’t have any force left for that.

The master of lightning went to his room. He wasn’t hungry. He didn’t feel like talking. He looked at his nightstand. Two days ago, there was a photo with himself, Ed and Edna, smiling in front of a shining Jalopy. It was like a jewel that day.

Now there was only a frame. Jay liked to watch his parents before going to sleep. But now he didn’t know who to put in it. Cliff? The Walkers? Maybe even his real mother, Lynn.

He didn’t have an answer.

Luckily, it wasn’t the only photo on the nightstand.

But the frame was pretty cheap and it fell constantly, a little souvenir from Stiix. It was that photo, the one they did after the Overlord was defeated for the first time. They looked so silly and peaceful. They had no idea that was just the beginning.

Jay smiled. Because his brothers were all there, and they were going to stay there.

Whoever was going to appear in that other frame.

It was dinner time, but he didn’t feel like eating. His stomach was closed. For a moment, he just wanted to forget about everything. About the family he didn’t really know, about his best friend’s terrific father, about the upcoming menace he was going to play an important role in.

For now, he just wanted to sleep.

He closed his eyes, and dreamed about driving a car, so fast to not touch the ground. Towards the sky. Towards the _void_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everybody! ^ ^  
> Yep, new powers, new possibilities!  
> The void is something that always fascinated me, I saw many shows and it has always new meanings. This one is... particular... everything will have more sense lately ^^"  
> The focus is on Jay, but you'll find out the others aren't just standing there doing nothing. I have something special for Kai, my flame babe and favorite ninja <3 ... and for something special, I mean something angst :P  
> Stay with me if you're interested to this story ;)  
> See ya!! Byee!!
> 
> P.S. If I made some errors let me know, please ^ ^


	3. Day three: "I'm here, Zane... and Zane?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late! Even if I already updated this same fic on Fanfiction.net... eh ^^" I'll post the chapters at the same time next time, promise!  
> New timeline, no season 6, isn't there a cute cinnamon roll we are all missing? ;)  
> Enjoy! ^ ^

Of course choosing to go to bed without dinner made him woke up pretty hungry. Jay couldn’t wait to have something under his teeth. It was weird that nobody woke him up. Maybe they forgot, things were pretty complicated after all. Or maybe they decided to give him a little of peace.

Or, they all decided to deal with themselves.

It looked like it, since there were only two people at the table.

Jay was a little confused. They were seven on that bounty, not an army but not even a couple of roommates.

Besides, breakfast was essential.

“Uhm, good morning?”

Lloyd raised his eyes. He passed the thirty seconds Jay didn’t make his presence clear looking down at his pancakes. That guy went through so many things, but he usually showed himself as a pretty positive person.

Today was looking just great.

“Morning, Jay. Slept well?”

“Not bad.” It was a lie. “There’s a cool ninja suits sold out and I didn’t know? Is this why the others are not here?” Wu probably already ordered something for them, he usually waited for a while. So much that he himself wearing a particular suit against a particular villain.

Weird coincidence.

Nya sighed.

“Apparently they have better things to do then have breakfast with us.”

Lloyd smiled a little.

“Come on, that’s not true, they are just busy, like Kai with sensei Wu. I think he woke up early for this session.”

Jay furrowed his forehead.

“Session of what?”

The green ninja quickly lowered his gaze. Nya pointed at him.

“See? I’m trying to make him talk since we arrived, but apparently I’m not allowed to know what’s happening with my brother!” She crossed her arms on her chest. She seemed really irritable lately. Like she was suddenly reminding everybody that yes, the hotheaded ninja shared her same blood.

Jay moved to the fridge.

“What about the others?”

“Zane left yesterday night, we have no idea where he went.” Lloyd looked sad. “Really, I don’t know what’s happening to him. Since our visit to Borg he’s not himself.”

The blue ninja put two slices of bread in the toaster. He took some blueberry jam, butter and a handful of nuts. He poured some orange juice in a glass. Everything was so slow, every single movement. After yesterday drive, that was.

“What happened with Borg?”

“Nothing, in theory. I didn’t exactly follow them, since they went working on a body for Pixal, so I don’t really know. I just took a look at Borg’s new telescope, since he told me the Golden Meteor was coming closer to the planet and it was observable.” The green ninja finally started eating his pancakes. “It was actually pretty cool. You remember that comet, right?”

“The one we got almost stuck on for the rest of our lives? Pretty much.”

“It looks like a golden star. It’s nice. Don’t know if it was worth it, since Zane is getting more and more distant and I don’t even know why… Cole, on the other hand, went to the Kryptarium.”

Jay felt instantly concerned. He sat down.

“Again?”

Nya nodded.

“And Misako is still working on the complement. So, for now, we’re alone.”

The toaster made a sound. Jay took the toasted, a little too much, slices, spreading the butter with a knife. He still felt sleepy. His mind was a little less noisy than yesterday, but not by much. He knew he needed to deal with everything, eventually. But at least he felt like talking. He needed to say something, anything. Freeing himself from some burden, anyone.

He looked at Lloyd. Yeah, he didn’t know, and maybe it could be even a remedy for his worries.

“Lloyd?”

“Yeah?”

“I need to tell you something. I should tell everyone, but I prefer go for grades. You see… Ed and Edna are not my real parents.” He kept spreading the butter, trying to not sound too involved. Didn’t work, the toast broke in his hands.

The green ninja gave him a worried look.

“Man, it must be hard. How are you?”

“Eh, ups and downs. But I found out who’s my dad, and… I think it’s gonna make you pretty jealous.” Jay smirked.

“Who is he?”

“Fritz Donegan!”

“Are you kidding me?!?” Lloyd dropped his fork. “No, wait, Fritz Donegan A.K.A. Cliff Gordon?? The actor of the movie??” Jay nodded proudly. “I can believe on of my best friends is my idol’s son! This is so cool!” His eyes were shining, and an adorable surprised face. At least he didn’t look gloomy anymore, mission accomplished.

Nya giggled.

“Your doomed, he’s gonna ask for details about every time you meet him.”

“Nya, you knew?!”

“I told you, I’m telling everybody one person at time. Cole was the first, since he was there when… well, now you know.” Jay looked at the toast broken on the table, it was extremely burnt to be real. “I don’t wanna keep it from me. Sharing makes me feel better.” He put the bread back in the plate. Suddenly he wasn’t that hungry anymore.

Lloyd gave him a concerned look.

“Did you have problem with him?”

“No, he’s great and I like spending time with him… but the Walkers don’t really accept the situation for now. Can’t blame them, it’s pretty hard for me too. I mean, now instead of them, I have a father I’ve known for two days and a mysterious mother I feel unnaturally connect with.”

Nya softened her gaze.

“I know it’s hard. If you need anything you just have to ask, okay?” Even if it was a bad period for everyone, she still was the coolest.

Jay smiled at her. He decided breakfast was over.

That meant morning training… with three people. It was weird. Lloyd grabbed the fork from the ground, Nya started to tap with her feet nervously. It was the first time in a while time was passing that slowly, especially during a meal.

The green ninja sighed.

“At this point we might as well commence on ourselves.”

Jay nodded.

“Since Nya is here too, I wanted to try something new.” The master of water gave him her attention. “Water is a great conductor for lightning. I was thinking that maybe, we could try and mix the two elements! Like making some electrified water globes or something!” He liked to think about new schemes. After discovering the other elemental masters, his brain was so amazed buy those possibilities that it was hard to sleep sometimes.

Lloyd smiled enthusiastic.

“It’s a great idea, Jay!”

“Now that’s a line you don’t hear every day.” Cole snickered, closing the door behind him. “But I like the idea too, combining elements sounds like a really good plan.”

Jay gave him a surprised look.

“Weren’t you at the Kryptarium?”

“First, acknowledge the fact that I approved one of your ideas, it’s not something normal.” Well, he wasn’t wrong. “Second… I don’t know, I feel like clearing my mind for a little. I would like to do something productive, like giving my support to your glass power!” He was smiling, at least. That unbreakable, confident curve on his face.

The blue ninja pouted.

“At least space power. Or void power, that’s even cooler!”

“Whatever, glazier! Let’s do it!” The master of earth ran with the others in the training area, looking more motivated than usual. Not that it wasn’t evident why.

After all, Jay’s power could save his dad.

He swallowed, walking as well. He didn’t have to feel so pressured, really. They were trying new techniques, new special moves. Getting stronger meant be ready to face an eventual new menace, it didn’t have to be about the void. As long as he was the master of lightning, it was enough.

Lloyd gave him and Nya a look.

“Okay, this starts with water. How about some of it?”

The master of water was already on action. She moved elegantly her arms, tracing imaginary figures on the air. Then, two dripping water globes appeared.

Cole smiled.

“Good. Now, better get them closer to Jay, you’re not lightning-proof like him.”

The sphere floated towards the master of lightning. They were getting less dripping as Nya was working on her power. He was sure they were gonna be completely still in no time.

His eyes went to one of his robot dummies.

“Cole, turn on one of them. Let’s see if we can blow something up.” He needed to know how much power they were going to create. Then, obviously, calibrate it to not kill anybody. Because yeah, he could easily send someone to the first Spinjtzu Master just by rubbing his feet on a carpet. Hard to forget.

The dummy made a switching sound, moving on his wheels towards the master of lightning. He was waiting for it, imagining the situation. The attack of the evil army of training tools, coming to get their revenge on them. He could see all of their armaments rioting, but their weapons still being by their side because of a strong loyalty towards the ninja. And of course, there was gonna be a big final battle against their ship, the Dark Bounty. Plot twists, a lot of fighting and catchphrases, and them looking at the dawn/sunset at the end.

Cole whistled loudly.

“Jay, come back to us, I know you’re thinking about something else!”

How come he was so easy to read for him?

The dummy got close. Jay gave Nya a knowing look. The master of water nodded, throwing the globes towards the target. After all, the lightning just needed a second to be shot. Jay concentrated his power on his hand.

The water hit the robot… but no electricity.

Cole blinked.

“… I kinda hoped for a bigger boom.”

“Jay, what happened?” Nya gave him a confused look.

Not as confused as the blue ninja himself. He looked at his own hand. He clearly felt the power inside him, moving towards his fingers.Then nothing. Like a sneeze that came back.

He shook his head.

“Maybe I got distracted, let’s try again!” The spheres of water were floating. Another look. Another throw. The lightning was shot… strong even less than that old gag of the electric shaking hand. It was a joke.

Lloyd furrowed his forehead.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, it stopped by itself! I swear it’s not me!… maybe I need a higher voltage.” Jay put his hand together. He gritted his teeth. His hand felt incredibly hot, but still not the blue lightnings he knew. His fingers started to feel numb.

Cole gave him a worried look.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Cole is right, let’s just give up on this. It’s probably not a good day!” Nya tried to put a hand on his shoulder, with a comforting smile. She instantly let out a shout. Her wet hand gave her a jolt.

The master of lightning lost the concentration.

“Nya, I’m sorry!! I didn’t…!!” The grip of his power was lost.

The electricity exploded all of the sudden, extremely close to him. Jay felt a strong pressure on his face, especially on the right eyebrow. The ears were ringing. His body felt lighter. The corners of his vision started to fade. The others were around him. Maybe. He wasn’t sure. He also wasn’t feeling that great. His eyebrow was pulsing.

He felt dragged, it kinda felt nice. He felt the back of his head touching the wall. He raised his eyes. Cole was near, adjusting him to a sitting position. He smiled.

“How’s going, Zaptrap?”

Jay blinked. He looked other the black ninja’s shoulder. Nya and Lloyd were training. Did he space out? For how much? He didn’t really care.

His eyebrow felt itchy.

“… did I shock myself?”

“More like a lightning exploded in your face. Maybe you should take it easy for a while, you are getting used to a new power too. It’s probably a lot to take.” The master of earth looked even more tired from this closely, and was still the one trying to be reassuring. Like he didn’t have to think about his dad in prison.

Jay sighed. No lightning, and a weird element made of glass. Awesome day like always.

“Everything is pretty messed up.” What if he waited for Cliff’s response at his house? What if he didn’t come to the junkyard? What if he asked Cliff to talk alone?

If… if… if…

What a pathetic syllable.

Cole got closer, his ghost shoulder brushed against his. It was really cold.

“What happened yesterday?”

Jay knew he was going to ask that. But unlike yesterday, he didn’t feel nauseating about talking. Every single word unsaid was heavy in his stomach.

“Me and Cliff… we kinda had an argument.”

“About what?”

It felt heavy talking. But not talking was worse.

“He… admitted that your presence disturbed him. I thought it was because you were a ghost, I got mad and ran away… don’t give me that look, I know it was a stupid reaction! There’s no need to rub it in!” He was waiting for the scolding, while his body was getting slowly less numb.

The master of earth blinked.

“… you basically ditched your father because you thought he hated me?”

“I told you not to…!”

“No, I mean! Jay, you defended me. You idolize him, but as soon as you thought he had something against me you stayed by my side. Honestly, I didn’t expect that.” He kinda blushed, that particular ghostly blush. “Thanks.” That surprised him. Finally, in a good way.

The blue ninja smiled slightly. It felt better from that perspective.

“No problem.”

“Whatelse?”

“Well, I noticed that it was weird not having you at home, so I went searching for you. You know that part. Then I discovered that Cliff went to my… to the Walkers.” It was still hard knowing how to call them. “He feared I was gonna leave him and wanted to talk as soon as possible. At the junkyard… the atmosphere was horrible. Ed wasn’t cracking jokes, Edna was furious. I never saw them behaving like that.” He managed to get his knees against his chest, hugging them. “Cliff explained. Apparently, the last master of earth betrayed the alliance of the elements, along with other masters… he hurt my mother, the real one.”

Cole widened his eyes. Suddenly he looked deeply ashamed.

“Jay, I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t be. He is he, you are you. You’re different from him, I know that. Everything is fine.” The blue ninja managed to calm him down. It was a victory.

The black ninja sighed in relief.

“Something else?”

“… Edna slapped Cliff.” He looked at him in shock. “She started screaming at him, insulting him and saying that he was superficial, a terrible person. She kept asking how come from someone like him came someone like me.” Jay’s eyes started to pinch. “She said he didn’t deserve me, that he was… she… it was horrible, Cole! She was shouting and crying, I didn’t even know she could react like that!” His arms tightened around his knees. “Ed asked me to let calm things down and to not come there for a while. I know it’s the right thing to do, but it’s… frustrating, not being able to go to the place you used to call home.” He wasn’t crying. Yet, his words felt like tears and he was tired and drained. It was only morning, and it felt night.

A strong arm circled his shoulders.

“Hey, things will get better. Slowly, everything will have a place in your life. You just need to believe in it, as much as I do. We’ll get through this bad moment together, okay?”

The blue ninja sighed. His heart felt lighter. Talking things through was really the best medicine for him. He could just hope that, from now on, the road was going to be a downhill.

***

Cliff looked up from the plate again. Jay started to count at the sixth time, every thirty seconds, so… three good minutes spent controlling the situation. He probably noticed his son wasn’t completely comfortable with the curious meal in front of him. Cliff said it was some sort of dish from his childhood, something about the stomach of a… goat?

It wasn’t that bad at tasting, but the thought of whatever was in it made him lose his appetite.

The blue ninja was pinching it with the fork, fearing it could turn back to life.

“Uhm, thanks again for the autographs.” For Lloyd and himself, of course. It was weird asking your own father to sign a couple of ninja masks? Hopefully not too much.

Cliff gave him a nervous smile.

“Too fancy?”

“No! No no, it’s fine!” They were sitting on a long dinner table, and their meals were served on silverware. Not rich at all.

His father sighed.

“I’ll order pizza.”

Jay dropped his head on the table he was so relieved.

“First Spinjitzu Master, thanks!” Fortunately, they both laughed.

Minutes later, faster than any pizza guy Jay had ever encountered – himself included –, they were on the sofa with a slice of pepperoni pizza in their hands. A delicious pizza, with unruly cheese, thin crust and tasty pepperoni. The blue ninja needed to ask who his trusted pizzeria was. And if it was covered in gold.

It was easier to let his father look at him, especially after yesterday ride. He was elegant, but with a hidden crazy side.

“How are you today?”

Jay smiled at him.

“Better, thanks.” He put his slice back to the cardboard after one bite. “Can I ask you a kinda delicate question? I’m not mad, I just wanna know.”

Cliff seemed worried.

“Of course. Ask away.”

“When you found out who I was, why didn’t you try to meet me? Why did you wait for me to find you?” Edna’s angry words were screaming in his memory. So many questions ignored for fear. But not now. He needed to know.

Cliff sighed. Again, that lost look.

“… time went by, and I didn’t know where you or Lynn were. I waited for her to come back, but she never did. When, after many years, a blue ninja with lightning powers appeared, I started to understand. And it felt terrible. She decided to give up you because she feared I wasn’t going to be a good father.” He eyes were lucid. “Right now, I’m asking myself if she was right. After all, I ruined a family to have mine back.”

Jay felt sorry for him. Not even angry. He was just a man that felt lost and inadequate. His love didn’t give him an occasion to prove himself and left him alone to deal with his misery.

It sounded awfully familiar.

“Where do you think she is, now?”

“I have no idea. I just hope she’s safe and sound.”

“Yeah…” Jay needed to change the subject, and there was something he wanted to do. “You said my real name should’ve been Jason, right?” Cliff nodded. “It’s not such a great change from my actual name. So, if you like, you can go on and use it. I think we should get used to the situation. And I could call you… dad.” It came out. Not without difficulties, but there was a feeling behind.

Cliff’s gaze was tinted with surprise.

“… Jason.” He smiled. “I would like that. So, how is everything going? We didn’t talk much yesterday, but I was going to ask you about that creature… they were talking about it on the news.”

Jay nodded.

“We have some theories, stuff about the great battle of Ninjago. I don’t know if you know that…”

“Of course I do. Lynn was an historical expert, besides being a cryptographer. It was the least I had to do to get to know and impress her. Sorry I interrupted, Jason, please continue.” It sounded weird. Not in a bad way, but it was going to take a while to get used to it.

Jay shrugged.

“Well, we discovered another prophesy. Some kind of “complement”, and I’m part of it. There’s a symbol that means void or something, connected to the power I unlocked recently.” Cliff’s eyes went stiff for a second. “What?”

He shook his head.

“I’m not sure. Please, continue.”

“There’s not much to say. Theoretically, I might be able to purify the creature. But until we get what’s written on those scrolls, we’re stuck. There’s nothing to do. And I can’t pretend to read ancient language as easily as I read your comics, but I hate doing nothing! It feels like I’m spending a bunch of time just being useless! And if that wasn’t irritating enough, today my power wasn’t working as I wanted!”

Cliff looked surprised.

“Really?”

“I got hit by my own thunder!”

“I was wondering why you had one eyebrow shorter than the other…”

Jay covered it, embarrassed.

“Cole, what the heck! Tell me before I go out!”

“But regarding the prophecy… I was thinking, I’m not an expert, but Lynn used to study a lot her own element. She was fascinated about the reaction of the lightning itself and she liked doing researches, thinking about her future successors. She had a lot of journals, all handwritten. Maybe they could help you.”

Jay frowned.

“The scroll was talking about the void, not the lightning…”

-Maybe you’re right, but instead of doing nothing. I could try and search something useful into them. Besides, the symbol was blue, so it must had something to do with you regardless, right?” He was indeed a smart man. “I just want to be useful, you know.”

Jay smiled, feeling too lucky to think.

“Thanks. It sure is better than nothing.”

“I think so as well. Or at least I hope so. The least I can do to try to be a part of your life again, is giving you a hand. I know it’s not much.” Cliff sighed. “I’m sorry, Jason.”

The blue ninja shook his head.

“It’s a lot, really. Thanks… dad.”

Cliff hugged him. And Jay pretended he wasn’t just holding a stranger. He pretended he didn’t have a thousand and more worries in his head. He pretended the situation wasn’t as bad as it was. That he deserved a little moment with his real dad. When he fell into all those illusions, he felt a little better. Even if the sadness was still pounding on the back of his mind.

He opened his eyes.

Cliff looked shocked.

“Your eyes…”

“Oh? Oh.” Jay let go of him. He probably had those neon bulbs on his face. It was because he felt peaceful? But the first time he panicked.

He didn’t get it. Cliff looked fascinated though.

“Is this a reaction of the void you were talking about? It’s… peculiar.”

“Yeah, even if I still have no idea how I’m using it. But there should be a barrier of something, like the other times… wait! I need to tell sensei about it, before I forget!” Jay started to get up. “I’ll call him right away, give me aOUCH!!!” He hit something with his head, falling back on the sofa.

“Jason!”

Jay put a hand on his pulsing head.

“Did I hit some…?” He widened his eyes.

There was a globe, floating in midair. It looked like it was made from the same material as the domes he summoned in the last days. But it was as big as a gist, stuck in the air like it had been fixed with a nail.

Cliff blinked.

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure, this is new. I can make glass globes now? I really am a glazier.” Jay tried to touch it. He took it without problem. It really looked like glass, it was lucid and perfect. Kinda a piece of art. Appeared in the living room of his biological father.

Ninjago just loved to surprise him.

Before Cliff could ask any question, the phone ringed. He went in the other room to answer.

Jay was looking at the globe. It was transparent, but also kinda opaque. Like him in this period, observant just for a couple of minutes before becoming blind. It suited him. It was a part of that power? It was bizarre, also a little invading.

Definitely his style.

He thought about how to make it disappear. As soon as he did that, the ball shrank. It fitted perfectly under his jacket, near Cliff’s handkerchief. He put it there.

“Uhm, Jason?” His father’s voice sounded a little weird from the other room.

“Yes?”

“Zane is the master of ice, one of your friend, isn’t he?”

Jay furrowed his forehead.

“Yeah, why?”

“He’s at the phone. He said he want to talk to you.”

He froze. The titanium ninja knew that he was at Cliff Gordon’s villa!? How? He was a nindroid, yeah, but he wasn’t a psychic, he didn’t have future vision… right? There were supposed to be limits to someone’s abilities, geez.

He ran to the phone. His father gave it to him, leaving him alone.

“Hello? Zane?”

“-How do you reattach a nindroid’s arm with a screwdriver and some screws?-”

Jay blinked.

“What? Hold on, how did you even know I was here?”

He felt an impatient sigh.

“-It is not important right now, just answer the question please.-”

Of course, he had thousands of questions. Of course, he could hardly keep his mouth shut. But of course, the titanium ninja rarely lost his composure, so it didn’t sound wise to press.

“It depends, how did it unplug?”

“-It dropped, I believe. It dropped, right?-” It sounded like there was someone else with him. “-Yeah, it appears it fell by itself. So, how do I fix it?-”

Was he talking to another nindroid? Jay knew Cyrus Borg was starting to produce them for self-defense, but it didn’t sound like Zane was at his tower. The blue ninja could vaguely hear the sound of the waves, maybe even the tingling of metal.

Now he was getting curious.

“I’m not sure, if it fell then maybe some parts are too rusty. You should probably replace it.”

“-But I have no idea what pieces I need! And I can’t leave now!-”

“You want me to come? I could…”

“-No!!-” Zane’s sudden outburst made him jump. “-I mean, I do not… maybe?-”

Curiosity left, now it was just concerning. The titanium ninja wasn’t talking anymore. Like he was suddenly off. But the call was continuing.

The blue ninja waited for a while. Then sighed.

“I can’t help you much if I don’t know what the problem is.”

“-… fine. Come to the lighthouse.-”

“The one we found your father in?”

The call ended.

Cliff appeared shortly after, the cardboard of the pizza in his hands.

“I’m gonna heat it up a little. What did your friend need?”

“He has a problem. I don’t know, I just need to go right now, I think it’s important.” Jay lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry I’m leaving again.”

Cliff shrugged with a smile.

“I guess it’s the exciting life of a ninja. Meanwhile I’ll have a look into Lynn’s diaries. Be careful, Jason.”

Jay nodded.

***

It was pretty far, the lighthouse prison. Especially since the master of lightning went to the bounty to grab his tools before soaring. It took three hours – not uninterrupted of course, he was still a human being, even if he could charge his phone without wires –, trying his best to ignore the surroundings. He really had a hard time focusing whenever he met some interesting details – “oh look, a funny looking fish!” –, it was something he needed to work on. He kinda wondered if that was the reason why the void appeared so randomly.

He arrived to the little island… and he felt distracted right before landing. He fell on his face, spitting some sands. The lighthouse was old and mushy, just how he remembered it. Not his usual holiday destination.

He went on the stairs. He couldn’t hear anything from the outside, the sea was pretty noisy. It felt like there was going to be a storm pretty soon.

He opened the door.

“I’m here!” He got in, bring his toolbox with it.

There wasn’t much light, there were few windows. The sky was pretty cloudy. The stairs were even dustier than last time. He could smell wet sand everywhere. Every step creaked under his foot. As he got higher, he started to hear voices.

“I am Zane, built to protect those who cannot protect themselves!”

“Yes, you said it already, now please do not move!”

Jay hesitated. For a moment, he believed he heard Zane’s voice, but in two versions.

Did he spend too much time over the ocean? Was sea air really good for health?

“I sense negative vibrations coming from your processor, brother.”

“How? You have a steam engine! You have so much rust you can hardly move! And do not address me like that, I am not your brother!”

He could hear rusty movements. Metal sounds. Screwdriving. Very familiar noises for him. Almost. They were all pretty approximate and not expert.

He finally got to the top.

“I’m here, Zane… and Zane?”

Maybe expecting something would had been a good idea, for softening the surprise. Because seeing his titanium friend working on a copy of him, rustier and less stressed, busy smiling peacefully with the expressivity of a less developed nindroid, made the blue ninja reevaluate his life.

For a moment. He did saw a giant demonic snake swallowing his sensei.

Zane gave him an eye after checking on his twin’s arm. The art fell, again apparently, and the robot gizmo quickly grabbed it. It was the droid that had purred tea on the blue ninja’s pants once.

Jay never had clean underwear in that voyage.

The master of ice gave him a stern look.

“It took you a lot.”

“Well, it’s at least three hours to…”

“It does not matter. Fix it. Be quick, please.” It was curious seeing Zane this pissed off. He was being pretty rush, while still trying his best to be polite. Even if those shining light blue eyes were screaming without words.

The blue ninja was so impressed he didn’t even feel offended.

He got closer to the table where the other Zane was lied down. He looked younger than Zane, even if way more ruined. He had the same traits as the other nindroid. But he had honey color eyes and a different mechanism on the chest, with a big watch.

His shining irises went to him. He looked genuinely curious.

“Hi, I am Zane.”

The master of ice sighed.

“No, you are not. Be quiet, for a moment.”

Jay didn’t really know how to feel. The all situation was a fertile land for a billion of questions. But he was there for helping, after all. He put a hand on the “patient”’ chest. Touching them, the rusty parts were even worse.

“The metal looks pretty bad. He has a vapor engine… he needs water to work but being near the sea it’s probably too much. Let’s see what we can to.” He took the lost arm from gizmo, studying the connecting part. As he suspected, many gears were in a really bad shape. He needed to change or clean them. He took pliers and started to put screws and gears on the table.

The clone smiled at him.

“What is your name?”

Jay couldn’t help but smile. He looked like a kid, a little bro of his favorite nindroid. But that one had the biggest pout on his face, he didn’t want to rub it in.

“I’m Jay. Nice to meet you… uhm…” They had the same voice, but the clone’s was a little high pitched. “… Echo Zane. How’s that?” The blue ninja looked at the titanium one.

He looked completely uninterested.

“I don’t care about the name.”

Jay decided not to press further.

He grabbed a rag and a little bottle. White vinegar. His fath… Ed, taught him that it helped getting rid of rust. Jay soaked the cloth and started to clean. It was really persistent, but it seemed to get better. The gears looked newer. Some of them were unusable, even without rust. He hoped he had enough spare parts. He could only use the ones he grabbed from the bounty.

Because the junkyard was off limits in that period.

Back with the pliers, he carefully but the gears back. He used some new screws for the mechanism, putting the arm back together. He thought about his mother’s puzzle.

He smiled.

“It should be good. Okay, Echo Zane. Try to move it.”

Echo jumped on his feet, putting up some extremely clumsy moves of martial arts. But the arm held, even when he turned around full speed.

He smiled at him.

“Thank you, Jay.”

Jay couldn’t help a little squeak. He was adorable. The blue ninja already liked him.

“It’s nothing, I’m used to this kind of things! But you have a lot of pieces that might get worse if you stay here, so you need to change them.” He turned to Zane. “You want me to get them? It’s gonna take a while, and you know how I am with concentration, but… Zane? Are you okay?” He waved in front of the nindroid’s eyes.

He narrowed his gaze.

“It was telling something, before the arm fell. Why it’s not talking anymore?”

Jay shuddered. It felt really cold the way he was referring to the rusty robot.

“… didn’t he talk right now?”

Suddenly Zane grabbed his shoulders. 

“Not with its voice!! With my creator’s!! It was talking with my father’s voice, it was a registration!! Then the arm fell and it stopped!! You fixed, why it’s not working anymore?? Tell me, please!!” He looked blind. And sad. And desperate. Like he did nothing but trying to resolve that problem until now.

Jay gasped a little.

“Registration? I don’t know, I should probably search into his circuits.”

“Do it, then!! If it is what is needed, then do it!!”

He blinked. He felt the tension building up in his stomach.

“I’m not a hacker, I would have to, like, open his head and…”

“I said I don’t care!! I don’t care about what happens to them!!”

“Why? Ouch, not so hard.” He flinched. The master of ice’s grasp on his was getting stronger. Too strong. Like a metal press.

Zane tightened his eyes.

“It’s like them, all of them! The juggernaut, gizmo… me… he built them!! But I don’t know if he did it for the reason I thought! I don’t know!” His hands were shaking.

But he didn’t let go.

Jay felt his shoulders creaking. He tried to let him go.

“Zane, stop it!”

“Everything he did…”

Now it felt painful.

“Let go, now!”

“He did it for reasons… maybe, the wrong reasons.”

Then, it was insufferable.

“You’re hurting me!! Stop!!” One hand let go, the other tightened even more. “STOP IT!!!” Jay gave him a little shock. It was the best he could do at the moment. He fell sit, holding his shoulder. He gritted his teeth.

“… Jay?” Zane widened his eyes in horror.

The blue ninja gave him am angry look.

“What is wrong with you?? You almost…” He got furious with the same speed as he stopped. He couldn’t, not when the robot looked so lost.

The titanium ninja walked backwards slowly, until he got against the opposite wall. He slowly drifted in a sitting position, never getting his eyes off Jay’s. He let out a little sob, closing his eyes in shame.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”

Jay softened his gaze. He slowly got up, still holding his shoulder. It hurt, but it was probably just gonna leave a little bruise. He sat next to him.

“Hey, don’t make that face. You know I can’t get mad when you do that.” He tried to smile, but the nindroid wasn’t looking at him.

“… I hoped I was doing good at not getting overwhelmed. I thought, if I found a solution, I wouldn’t feel this bad anymore. But I am far from resolving this. I guess I’m not as human as I thought I was.” Saying that gave his face even a sadder look.

But kinder. And that, was the droid the blue ninja knew. Jay let go of the hurt part. It was painful only when he moved it. He got closer.

“That’s actually the opposite, you know. People sucks at hiding emotions. Besides, don’t act like you’re all supernatural, you are no different from any of us. If someone is really bad at hiding something is me! Like, you got me at my real dad’s house like it was nothing! _That_ is being bad at hiding, my friend!” He smiled, then he noticed Zane’s eyes on him. “… what?”

The master of ice looked confused. It wasn’t normal for him.

“Your… real dad? Mr. Walker is not your father?”

Jay gulped.

“You didn’t know?? How did you call me, then??”

“I traced you from you receiver, then I searched the number of the owner of that place. I thought I called a bar or something.” The titanium ninja softened his gaze. “Apparently, I am not the only one that found out unpleasant truths. Are you okay?”

Jay nodded, smiling a little.

“It was hard at first, but now I’m managing. What happened to you?”

Zane swallowed.

“It might sound unfair, but I’d rather not to talk about it.”

“Hey, yesterday I didn’t want to talk about it to anyone, it’s normal! Just today I feel like telling you guys!” The blue ninja smiled. “I really like my real dad. He’s Cliff Gordon, you know? The actor of my favorite movies! And he’s so kind, polite and he never presses me about the situation. We didn’t get along from the start, but I like spending time with him.” He hoped to distract him, to make him think about something that didn’t hurt him.

Luckily, the titanium ninja seemed interested.

“It sounds splendid.” He smiled weakly. “Do you know something about your mother as well?”

The master of lightning nodded, a little sadly.

“Apparently, she was the one that left me at the Walkers and then just never came back to my father. But she sounds… so cool from what my real dad says about her! She was a cryptographer and really fond of labyrinths and puzzles. She liked to live free, without fear to risk. I wish to know her, maybe I will one day. Maybe… she’s still out there, somewhere.” He realized it was the first time he expressed that thought out loud. It gave him a warm feeling in his chest.

He really wanted to meet his mom.

He spaced out again. It was a constant, lately.

The master of ice had shining eyes. It was always amazing how he was the most controlled of all of them, and yet he had that kind of empathy. Gizmo got closer, petting his leg. Echo sat down next to his brother, still smiling.

They stayed silent for a moment. The waves were getting quieter out there.

Then Zane looked at him.

“How do you stay so hopeful? I mean, you barely know them. They left you for most of your life, even if you feel like you’ll always be connected with them.” He wasn’t looking at him anymore. “How do you know if there really is a bond?”

Jay shrugged.

“Maybe I’m being naïve, like Cole said. But I want to believe it. Hoping I have a family I’m part of. I see a different legacy, I want to know as much as possible. Maybe I won’t like everything, but it’s normal, right? You can’t like everything about your family!” He laughed a little. Inside, he was thinking about the Walkers. They were still part of him.

The titanium ninja looked at him conflicted.

He lowered his head.

“… thanks for fixing Echo.”

Jay smiled softly.

“No problem. You know, you don’t have to keep stuff for yourself if you don’t want to. Things are easier when we work as a team, it took a while but eventually sensei got us to learn that!” He got up. “Are you gonna be okay, Zane?” He didn’t know what he was hiding. But at least he looked like he gave him a little shock.

Eheh, shock

The master of ice nodded, without looking at him.

The blue ninja hoped it was enough. He looked at Echo Zane, looking at his brother like the worried sibling he seemed, and gizmo, grabbing another fallen gear from the ground.

He thought that, at least, his pal was in good company.

***

“Fire strike, go!”

“Stop using the same attack, it’s not fair!!” Jay was doing his best, but his character in the game was not as fast as himself. “Just two more missions in campaign mode and I’ll raise my level! Then we’ll see who’s the hot stuff here!”

The master of fire snickered, pressing rapidly on the controller.

“Do that, but for now I’m winning! Ha!”

“Go Kai, you can do it!”

“Lloyd, no favoritism!”

“Oh no, it’s not that, Kai thinks I bring good luck. He wants to see if he wins if I cheer for him, so next time Cole tries to beat all of his scores again he’ll show him.” The green ninja shrugged. He sat on the armrest of the sofa, watching the two of them killing each other at Fist to Face III.

Jay furrowed his eyebrow, while his avatar activated his special attack.

“Didn’t you do it, and then blame Cole?”

“That’s right. It’s Kai that doesn’t remember.”

“Wait, what?” One distraction and the red ninja’s character got killed. “Ah, darn it!”

Jay snickered.

“I guess you have no future as a lucky charm, Lloyd.”

“I’ll accept that. Where’s Zane? Isn’t it his turn to cook?”

“I don’t think he’ll show up for a while…”

Kai gave him a surprised look, while starting a new battle.

“You know where he is?”

Jay hesitated. He didn’t have to lie, the master of ice didn’t ask him that, but it didn’t feel right. He wanted to leave him be for a while.

“He’s just a little busy, we shouldn’t force him.”

“If you say so… ha!” As soon as the round started Kai’s avatar strike immediately. “Come on, Motor Mouth! If you don’t give your best, destroying you it’s not fun!”

“Ha ha, like I would give you the satisfaction!” Jay got back into the game. “Take this! Lightning Slide! I bet you didn’t see that coming!… and now I’m not the one who’s not giving his best. Seriously, do something.” His character wasn’t moving anymore. “Did you stop trying on purpose?… Kai…?”

The controller fell. Kai groaned in pain, holding his head. His forehead was sweaty and his eyelids extremely tightened. 

Lloyd gasped, approaching him immediately.

“Another migraine?”

“N-No, I think it’s… I think…” The master of fire shouted. “Call sensei! Hurry!!” He was hardly breathing. His skin was pale, like he was going to faint.

Lloyd was holding his shoulder. He didn’t look like he wanted to leave.

Jay finally awake from the surprise, getting up.

“I’ll call him, you stay here!” He immediately speeded towards the master’s room. His heartbeat was frantic. And he had no idea why it was happening. It looked like a common pattern lately.

He opened the door without knocking. Wu and Misako were on their knees, looking at the scrolls.

Sensei Wu gave him a confused look.

“Jay, what…?”

“Something’s wrong with Kai!” The blue ninja felt like he didn’t know to add anything else.

In fact, the master widened his eyes. His older features got accentuated by a deep concerned. He jumped towards the door, almost knocking the master of lightning down in the process. His quick steps got away in the distance.

Jay tried to follow him, but Misako grabbed him from the wrist.

“He’s not in danger, you don’t have to worry.”

He gave her a look.

“You know what’s going on?”

“Not all the details, but you need to trust them. They know the situation and they are the only one that can deal with it. Wu and Kai know what they are doing.”

He sighed. They were talking about their official hothead and master “there’s something I should’ve told you a long time ago”. But they did have a clearer mind together. And Lloyd was there too. He could calm down. He sat down, a little disoriented. He looked around. It was full of papers, completely foreign for him.

The thought of a prophecy with himself included had felt like a dream in the past, when they were fighting over who was going to be the green ninja. Right now, it was mostly unnerving.

“How’s going here?”

Misako sighed gloomily.

“I wish I could say good, but most of these scripts are really complicated. Even for someone who spent all his life studying them. This one, for example.” She pointed at it. “Needs to be read like it’s written in a circle, I realized that only this morning. And there’s still the language to translate.” She looked extremely tired. The glasses were slipping on her sweaty nose.

Jay felt a little tense. He never really talked to her that much, at least not alone. He admired her, she was accultured and strong. And she was a mother.

A mother…

“Can I ask you a question, Misako?”

“Sure thing, Jay.”

“When you find out Lloyd was going to become the green ninja… did you, like, immediately think of abandoning him?” He didn’t want to be rude, but he needed another point of view.

Misako sighed.

“I discovered it a little after Garmadon’s banishment in the Underworld. The truth is, I spent two years trying to find an alternative solution… and there’s a reason why I left him at Darkley’s Boarding School for Bad Boys. It might sound stupid and wrong… but I hoped for him to become like his father at that time.”

Jay widened his eyes.

“Like, the evil Lord Garmadon? Why?”

“They couldn’t fight, if they were on the same side. On the good’s or bad’s, they loved each other, I was sure of this. I thought it was going to be enough to prevent the final battle.” Misako lowered her eyes. “It was my last resort, and after that I realized I was being naïve, and focused on studying the prophecy. I just didn’t want my son and my husband fighting each other. I wanted them to be happy.” She shivered a little.

The blue ninja looked at her worried.

“You’re okay? Ah, it was really inopportune, wasn’t it? I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t worry.” Misako smiled at him. “I know you. All of you, at this point. I know destiny choose well for Lloyd. It found people that made him feel home again. It’s the best a mother could hope.”

Jay nodded. She was caring. She could make mistakes, like any other person, but she never stopped loving her son. And somehow, they managed to find each other again. But when Jay thought about Lynn, he felt weird. Because she sounded amazing, and yet she abandoned him just for an argument with her husband. Was she really that superficial?

Misako was looking at him.

He spaced out. It was so frequent lately.

“Ah! I just asked out of curiosity, eh.”

“It seems like you all have many secrets in this period. Could it be that your strange behavior is somehow connected to yours?”

“Strange? Who, me? Maybe a bit, but not always! After all strange means particular, which means original! A real original person who can do inventing, model building, cooking, writing poetry…” He really couldn’t stop his tongue by his own. -Sure, I’m not good with ancient languages like you and Lynn, but at least I’m good with machines! It’s not the same, I know, but it means I’m also kinda smart, I hope, I thi…!”

“How do you know that name?”

That venomous tone was enough to interrupt him, though. Not only that, Misako’s eyes were on fire. Every trait of her face was tense.

The blue ninja tried to play it cool. Two people for a day was enough.

“Well, she was… something’s wrong?”

The archeologist had dark eyes. She was probably one of the sweetest and polite woman he had ever met, simply maternal. With that silent fury he never saw her.

She looked him, and it felt like being stabbed.

“Tell me how do you know that name!!” Her voice was full of anger.

The master of lightning held his breath. He didn’t like those eyes, her tone, the situation. He knew she needed to know the truth eventually, like sensei and the others. But that didn’t seem the right moment. He had a bad feeling about it.

“She… she was a cryptographer, right? I wanted to help, her name just came out.”

Misako glared at him with intensity. In that moment Jay kinda understood how a woman like that caught the interest of the king of shadows. Then she sighed tiredly. The fury was still there, but it was like the flame got smaller.

“I don’t wanna hear that name. Ever again.”

The silence was miserable. Jay felt his own heartbeat pulsing in his head. He could barely hear Kai, Lloyd and Wu talking in the other room.

“You know her?… an old friend?”

Misako softened her gaze. She smiled weakly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to react so harshly. It’s not your fault, after all she was indeed the best in her job. You wanna know more? Maybe you’ll realize why it’s better not go looking for her name. Or why I don’t wanna hear about her.” She sounded so sure about it.

Jay felt nervous. He knew he wasn’t going to like it.

He nodded anyway.

“So, who is Lynn?”

“As you said, she was a cryptographer. The reason why we worked together for so long, sharing our dreams of being studiers. It’s the way we met and why we spent so much time together. But that’s not it. She was my friend, no, my only and best friend.” She sighed. “It’s probably not surprising when I say that me frequenting Garmadon, the evil son of the first Spinjitzu Master, didn’t exactly got me many friends. He wasn’t bad at that time, but he still had those fits of rage that scared everyone. But Lynn wasn’t scared, or to be precise, she knew people weren’t bad just because they knew Garmadon. Most important, she trusted me and my judgement. And I trusted her. So much.” Her face got dark again. He looked more ashamed than angry.

The blue ninja swallowed. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. But he _needed_ to know, it was the perfect occasion to find out more.

“What happened, then?”

Misako looked at him straight in the eyes. Her fingers tightened around on of the scrolls, almost ripping it off.

“We used to keep all our work in a little storehouse, into a forest, because she was extremely paranoid and she always wanted to keep it away from others. Her father was a really protective person, he didn’t want his daughter to have too many interactions, so she didn’t want to rick to provoke his wraith. It was our treasure. The work of a lifetime. And she… she destroyed it. Years of research burnt down, about the Overlord, about the green ninja, about you guys. All lost.” Her hands here shaking. “She told me it was pointless, that we lost our lives over something that wasn’t supposed to be discovered. She said it didn’t matter. We argued a lot, because no matter what I said to her, for her all the time spent to know the secrets of Ninjago… our bond… wasn’t important anymore. She said goodbye, and I don’t see her since then.”

Jay felt sick. He swallowed.

“Did… she try to contact you again?”

“No. And I really hoped she would’ve had. But nothing, and when I went searching for her she was just gone. She never got to tell me the real reason, if there is a real reason… I never saw her again, and she never searched for me. I thought she was my friend… but she sabotaged our work, she lied about us being close. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive her.”

The blue ninja couldn’t talk anymore. His throat was burning. All he could think of was his mother, the smart, energetic woman, destroying her best friend’s efforts. Destroying the trust of such an important person for her. His head was spinning. He heard too many good things about her. Too many. They couldn’t stay with the bad ones.

The door opened.

“He should be fine no… Jay?” The master kneeled near him, worried.

The master of lightning held his head. The corners of his vision were fading. He felt sick. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. Having hysterical reactions. Screaming. Exaggerating. He didn’t want to be himself.

Everything came together in a precise scheme. A best friend’s trust betrayed.

He and Cole.

What if betraying was genetical? Was he… like the worst of his mom?

He felt his hand shivering. He gulped, and a blue spark exploded on his palm. He felt his skin burning and he screamed. It burnt. His fingers felt like they were on fire.

“Jay!” Kai was immediately in front of him. “Are you okay??”

Jay had no idea what to say. He just held his wrist with the other hand.

Lloyd helped him to get up. The blue ninja didn’t see them coming in, but he didn’t care. His head hurt. His chest too.

Master Wu seemed worried.

“Calm down, Jay. Lloyd told me about your problems at controlling your powers lately, so be careful and don’t overuse it. Sometimes the best decision is to wait.” He looked at the other two ninja. “Please, take him to medicate.”

The master of lightning swallowed. Splendid, now the control, one of his specialty, was simply gone. He grabbed Kai’s shoulder with his good hand, while letting Lloyd holding him on the other side. He looked at Misako one last time. She seemed lost. They both went deep in a different past. None of them found that pleasant.

They left the room. The hallway was desert. Where were everybody? The annoying voices, the loud noises? The color? Where was the place he so desperately needed right now?

He got carried to the sofa. His hand went numb. He didn’t even look at it, it just hurt.

Lloyd sat on his right, looking concerned.

“It doesn’t look bad, you know?” He got closer, massaging his shoulder. It felt nice. No matter the situation, the green ninja knew how to comfort all of them just by being there.

The red ninja sat on his other side with some bandages. He took his hand without saying a word, examining it. His eyes were focused, determinate, but mostly kind. It was strangely natural the delicacy he showed sometimes towards all of them. Just for his family.

But he was also a little pale.

Jay cleared his voice. He felt a little better.

“How about you, Kai?”

The master of fire gulped, like he noticed him only now.

“What?”

“Are you okay?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe not. Maybe it’s worse that I thought, I mean, I’m not even sure what’s happening to me.” He looked confused. Not enough to look fragile, it wouldn’t be like him. But he was afraid. That was real.

The green ninja sighed worried.

“Sensei Wu says we don’t have to be so worried, but…”

So, Lloyd was into that situation too? Jay looked at Kai.

He sighed tiredly.

“In these days sensei is helping me with… a thing that started to happen to me recently. Nothing dangerous, it just started.” He started to bandaging his hand. “For now I can’t really give out details, not because I don’t want to, it’s more like I have no idea why and what it’s happening. But hopefully something good will come out of these things.”

Jay was surprised by that perfect bandaging. It didn’t even hurt anymore.

“You think you’ll find out something that might help us?”

“I hope so. I hate being useless! At least you are part of the complement or something! While all the others are hiding things. They never tell us everything, they always feel the need to keep things for themselves!” Kai sighed, relaxing on the sofa. “Maybe I’m just overthinking. It’s the first time we have no idea where we are going for. It’s really annoying.” He was slowly closing his eyes. After a couple of seconds, he wasn’t talking anymore.

The blue ninja tried to enjoy the position as well. With the master of fire by his side he felt a nice warmness over his body. He was tired too. He pushed his dragon to the limit. He could barely keep his eyes open. He didn’t want to skip dinner again. But his limbs weren’t answering anymore. Lloyd was already asleep; his head was on his shoulder. Looking closer, he looked really exhausted as well. Apparently, he did have a hard time, like all of them apparently.

The master of lightning closed his eyes. His receiver vibrated. He opened them.

“Hello?”

“-Jason? Is this a bad time? I just wanted to know how it went.-”

He bit his tongue. He ditched Cliff without explanation, of course he got him worried. Now he felt guilty. But knowing he really cared was nice.

He turned down the volume of the call, to not waking up the others.

“Everything’s good, it was a mechanical problem. Daily administration for me.”

“-I’ll have to get used to your ninja life. I know you handled yourself since now, but I saw the enemies you fought. It’s still pretty terrifying.-”

Jay smiled.

“I have friends that got my back. Don’t worry so much.”

“-I’ll try. I wanted to tell you that I’m gonna work on Lynn’s journals soon. I want to stay on them at least for a day, so if I start tomorrow the next day I should have something for you… at least I hope so.-” There was a paper noise in the background, a really clumsy one.

They probably had the same propension for history.

“Thanks for the help.”

“-It’s the least I can do.-”

“It’s not, you’re doing so much and we know each other just for three days. Here it’s pretty hard. I thought things were going to get better soon. But thinking about you by my side makes me feel a little better.” He closed his eyes. His dad’s voice was nice.

“-It’s good to hear it. I’ll keep you updated.-”

“Dad?”

“-Yes?-”

He could ask about Misako, the sabotage, the situation. But he couldn’t. He closed his mouth. His stomach burnt for the unsaid words. But even so he didn’t let them out.

“… never mind.”

“-Oh, okay. Goodnight, Jason.-”

“Goodnight.” The call ended. He felt better.

Maybe he could take a nap. Just one. Besides, none of the two sleepyheads near him were going to wake up soon. He closed his eyes. Hoping Misako still had some good memories of his mother. Hoping Zane would come back soon. Hoping Nya wasn’t in a bad mood anymore. Hoping, really hoping that Cole could have at least a moment of serenity. Even a little one.

Maybe they were going to wake him up, end everything was going to be fine.

He really wanted to believe it. His mind drifted away, towards the _void_.

…

…

…

That day, nobody woke him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! ^ ^  
> Okay, I'm finally down to update this fic on both accounts at the same time. It did pass a lot of time, I don't wanna be late with one update in comparison to the other. To follow the updates and, why not, more fanfictions, occasional fanarts and stuff coming, here's my tumblr page: purplerose244@tumblr.it  
> Hope you liked the chapter! Get ready for some big deep angst next time... things will get EMOTIONAL  
> See ya, byee!!


	4. Day Four: "Answer me!! Talk to me!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS!!! There's a lot of angst for Jay in this chapter, I hope you're ready! Mention of blood, even if not heavily. And near to death experiences. That's it, have a happy day ^^"  
> Enjoy!!

He woke up without realizing. His eyes were open and he had no idea when he did that. He was even on his feet. The room was kinda dark. The moon could be seen from the window. Beautifully full. There were no rumors around him.

He felt pulled by his arm.

“Nya…?”

Her eyes were tearing and she was panting.

“Kai’s whining in his sleep, there’s something wrong with him!”

It felt like a slap in the face. It wasn’t important if he was awake or not. His legs were moving by their own. He was holding Nya’s hand without even realizing it. It was shaking like never before. The doorways looked all the same. The bounty was dark. Foreign. Even cold. Like a sinister place they never explored before.

Suddenly they were at Kai’s room.

The door slammed open. Jay froze on the entrance. The master of fire was shaking violently. His entire body was writhing in pain. He was whispering undertone incomprehensible words, desperate and delusional. His face was red and sweaty. His eyes were vitreous, like he was blind. He seemed possessed.

Lloyd was holding his hand, looking desperate and sorry. He noticed their arrival and open his mouth to talk to him.

In that moment the red ninja stopped.

The three stayed silent. For a moment the blue ninja felt relieved.

But the green ninja was paralyzed by fear. He slowly let go of Kai’s hand, turning to the other two. In his eyes there was pure horror.

“H-he’s cold…”

Nya widened her eyes. Immediately she kneeled before her brother and put a hand on his carotid. She gulped, then she accosted her ear to his chest.

“… he’s not breathing… he’s not breathing!!”

A cold terror hit Jay hard.

Lloyd started hyperventilating.

“I-it can’t be!! No!!” He grabbed the red gi. “Kai!! Kai, please, no!!” He started shaking him, growing more and more erratic. 

Nya was having a hard time breathing. She started to push on his brother’s chest on regular timing, fighting against the tears in front of her vision.

“No! No no no! Kai, please! You can’t do this to me! Not like this!” She did two insufflations, keep pressing on his chest. “Stay with me!! please!!” Her cheeks were wet, her arms were shaking. But she kept going, more and more desperate.

No response.

The green ninja was sobbing, whispering to himself.

“Why did I let you do that?? Why??”

Visions. Sensations. Yesterday’s vague discussion.

Jay could not think of any of this.

His mind came back to reality. And only one thing was clear.

Kai was cold. His brother wasn’t breathing. He was dying.

He was dying.

Nya lowered for a last insufflation. She was lost in hiccups.

“Kai, no, please!! Stay with me!! S-stay with me, big brother!!” She looked at his face. “Don’t leave me!!” No answer. She let her head fall on his chest, crying over him.

No words from the master of fire.

Jay couldn’t bare more.

They survived everything together. Everything. He was not going to let it end like this. They were teammates, friends, family. He had no right to die in such an anonymous way. He had no right to die. Not now. Not like this. Jay wasn’t ready to let him go.

He wasn’t ready to let anyone go. Ninja never quit.

Ninja never quit.

He almost launched himself in the room. He pushed Nya away. Every guilt of precautions was gone from his mind. He didn’t need those right now. He needed to act without thinking. Just like Kai. Exactly like Kai. He charged his hand with electricity. It was vibrant. Still weak, like always lately. He just hoped to see it. He needed the lightning. He needed that last try. Every second left and that hope was getting thinner.

He put his hand on Kai’s chest. The lightning left his fingers.

The red ninja’s body twitched, shining in a blue light. Three seconds. Two. One.

His coughs melt the preoccupation in that room. He rolled on one side, catching his breath. Then, he sat down, looking around. Extremely confused.

“… what are you two doing in my room?”

Nya hugged him, holding him close. She was crying, sobbing while calling his brother’s name again and again. Like she almost lost the possibility to do that. The master of fire was speechless. He just caressed her back.

Jay let go a breath he didn’t know he kept. He fell on his knees. He could barely stand. His throat was pulsing. He turned to the green ninja. He seemed so relieved, incredulous and angry at the same time, like himself he had no idea what to feel.

Kai seemed like he wanted an explanation. He was okay. He was okay, for the first Spinjitzu Master! A little weak and confused, but alive. Alive.

“What happened? Did I dive too deep?”

Lloyd looked at him. He kneeled in front of him.

He slapped him. Jay felt the déjà-vu.

“I told you it was a bad idea! I told that without sensei it was dangerous! But you always want to do things on your own, you’re an idiot!” Tears were streaming on his face. “It could’ve gone bad, Kai! Really bad! Why you never think before doing something? We almost lost you! You almost… I…!” He grabbed his shoulder. Like for making sure that he was still, indeed there.

Kai was astonished. He looked at his sister.

“What’s he talking about? What happened?”

Nya sniffed. He slowly let her brother go.

“You… stopped breathing.”

The red ninja’s eyes widened. At the same time the door opened. All the presents gulped. In the doorway, sensei Wu was looking at the hothead. In such a peaceful man Jay never saw that gaze. He looked like he could move the all world in that moment.

Even before he talked, the blue ninja knew it wasn’t his place anymore.

“Kai, we need to talk. You too, Lloyd.”

Jay helped Nya getting up. She was still crying silently. She probably didn’t want to leave, but she was unable to resist. Too weak. Too tired. The blue ninja brought her out, walking her with an arm around her shoulders and a hand holding hers. They went in a random room. It wasn’t important. They sat on the bed. It didn’t even move. Nya looked incredibly light.

The blue ninja waited. He didn’t know what to think. There was too much silent now. He didn’t know what world there was outside. He tried to breath. Tried to think.

He instinctively tightened his hand around Nya’s.

“My gosh.” He whispered.

Nya leaned her head against his shoulder. She was shaking.

“Alive. He’s a-alive. Kai is alive. My brother, alive… alive…” She kept telling herself, and maybe to him, that fragile and important truth. She held him. She needed a foothold.

Her brother was her foothold.

Jay started caressing her back. He waited. He didn’t know what, he just knew that everything in that moment was meaningless, and important at the same time.

He took a long breath.

“Do you… do you know what time is it?” He didn’t care.

He just needed reality.

“I-It was almost five o’clock when I heard Kai whining… I went to check, and Lloyd was watching him while he was sleep-talking. At some point he started to s-scream.” Nya swallowed. “I didn’t know what to do, Zane and Cole didn’t come back and you were the closest… I needed help, I… I…” Her body was shaking. Tears were silently streaming from her shining eyes.

Jay felt her chest tightening. How to tell those two what just almost happened? He closed his eyes. His brain felt like shocked. Completely awake. Painfully aware.

“I… I also didn’t know what…”

“But you did it. You saved him.” Nya gave him such a thankful gaze. “Thank you so much, Jay. T-Thank you.” She hugged him, burying her face into his chest. Sobbing again.

And so did the blue ninja. Burning tears completely out of his control. He so wished to be the strong one like Cole. Or the pragmatic one like Zane. All he could do was holding her as strong as he could, comforting her. As much as he needed.

They didn’t sleep. They couldn’t. They stayed still, in each other’s arms. Jay even put away his receiver. He didn’t want news, bad news.

Nobody came for them. It felt like being closed in a bubble. Hours passed of pure nothingness and silence. The light came from the windows. Jay wondered where there the others. Sensei was mad. He never saw him like that. He just hoped he wasn’t too harsh on Kai.

He just wanted to think he was okay. Just this.

Nya’s voice shook him.

“How’s going with your dad?”

He needed to talk, now more than ever.

“Pretty good, he’s helping me. I like him, even if we’re still trying to make it all work. Wanna know something interesting? My real name should’ve been Jason. A little anonymous, don’t you think?”

The master of water looked at him.

“I like it. Jason.”

“But it still sounds weird. I prefer Jay, it’s more natural. But Cliff has every right to call me like that, I’m his son. He’s even doing a resea… Nya?” She was stiffer against her arm.

Her cheek was against his shoulder, soaked.

“I almost lost him.”

The slap. This time it was of terror. Jay swallowed.

“I-I know, but… it didn’t happen, don’t think about it.”

“It didn’t just because of you. You guys face these kinds of situations every day. You risk your life, but you always succeed because of your quick thinking. I… I can’t, Jay. I can do a lot of things. But why, when the situation is just a little more difficult, I’m stuck? I can’t risk, since I’m too aware of the consequences? I…” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“For all the perfect match thing. It’s my fault you and Cole separated, it’s my fault we broke up so horribly.” She sighed against his chest. “You might not believe it, but I was in love with you. I really thought about a future together. You are amazing, but thinking about an already planned future for me felt… suffocating. I know it’s horrible to say.” Her eyes were red, tired and guilty. It looked like she was awake only by will.

The blue ninja shook his head. It did hurt. But he didn’t fight his best friend for getting out of that mess without learning anything.

“I was obsessed. And when that machine gave me the doubt, I immediately went on the defensive. I didn’t even try to understand. I acted hurt and angry, and I didn’t even realize what I was doing wrong. I’m the one who should say sorry.”

Nya closed her eyes.

“But I’m the one that betrayed you.”

“You never did, you just considered an idea. I jumped on conclusions. I didn’t let you talk, I didn’t let Cole talk. And when you had to choose between the two of us, I just tried to grasp your attention in all those… weird ways. I looked like a lame lady’s man.” Jay always thought of himself as a smart guy. Even so, that was probably the stupidest thing ever.

And he did that.

The master of water weakly smiled at him.

“You wanted to show how much you cared about me.”

Jay imitated her.

“At least that arrived, eheh. Better than nothing.”

“I’ve always been happy about it. But then Zane was gone and… I didn’t feel like revaluating in that moment. I hope I didn’t hurt you too bad by not choosing.” She was sincere. Not clear about her feelings, but Nya was all that. Solid and genuine.

It was weird, he’s been with that girl for a long time, trying to impress her almost since the start. But discussing like that, without stuttering, without pretending to be someone he wasn’t, the way she already said she liked the most, was something new.

He liked it.

“It’s better this way. I wouldn’t have realized how bad was my obsession for you. If you chose Cole I wouldn’t have talked to him anymore. You did good.” He smiled. “And I regret nothing.”

Nya looked at him surprised.

“Really?”

Jay smiled.

“I mean, now I understand more about myself, my limits. And about Cole. Especially about him, how loyal and dependable he is. He showed me he’s willing to sacrifice himself for his friends, and even if we fought against each other, now we’re stronger and closer than before. The bond we have now… I wouldn’t exchange that with a simple crush, never again.” It felt like letting everything go. Many things were going to change and some did change.

But somehow, the two of them were still there.

That part of his life was important. Like the one he was living right now.

Nya was looking at him with wide eyes.

“I was wrong.”

“About what?”

“… no, nothing. Just a thought.” Her face was still pale. She looked like a fairy, with pure skin and shining eyes.

Jay didn’t move. His legs were sleepy. He couldn’t tell when and if he stopped crying. His throat was still sore. But he felt lighter. And besides, he couldn’t sleep. Not after what happened just a few rooms further.

Nya eventually fell asleep. Thankfully.

He slowly lied her on the bed, covering her body with a blanket. She needed it.

Jay got out of the room. It was his. He didn’t pay attention to it. The doorways were clearer. The sun was starting to come out, but it was kinda gray. It looked like an anomalous day. He couldn’t tell how it started. It felt like floating on a cloud. He just wanted to know if everything was normal. Kai’s door was semi open. Talking could be heard.

The blue ninja leaned to the door. He could see the master of fire walking back and forward, while the energy one had a serious look on his face.

“Kai… Kai, stop, you know he’s right.”

“What kind of master forbid his pupil to train?? It’s absurd!!”

“Do you realize how much you risked?”

“I was close, Lloyd! So close! Just a little more and I would’ve understood, it could be important! I can’t waste all this time doing nothing, I have to…!”

Jay accidentally pushed the door, that creaked.

Kai gave him a surprised look. And Jay felt his throat burning again. His eyes were shining and his expression so present. Alive. He was alive.

“U-Uh, sorry, I… I just wanted to check on you… are you… okay?”

The master of fire furrowed an eyebrow.

“I’m fine? It was nothing, Jay.”

“You…”

“It was nothing, I said. I was deeply meditating, my body relaxed too fast. But thanks for the shock, at least I woke up. Not too pleasantly, but whatever.” He snickered like always, furrowing his eyebrows a little. Like everything was under control.

But he died.

Jay clenched his fists.

“Pretending doesn’t make you look cool right now.”

Kai’s smile fell.

“Don’t you have something to do? Sleeping or bothering someone else?”

Lloyd gave Kai a stern look.

“Jay saved your life. At least be grateful.”

The red ninja paled. He swallowed hard.

“… it was nothing.”

“Kai…”

“I said it was nothing! I was fine, I would’ve managed like always! Ninja never quit, why do you all make it sound like it’s different! I can do it and I’ll do it every time! I can deal with myself!” He pushed Lloyd away when he saw him trying to put a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t need help! Especially not from Wu! He knows nothing, he’s not my dad, okay?? He’s nothing!! Nothing!!” He punched the wall. His arm was shaking. The silence felt heavy. Then he just let go, sitting on the bed with his hands in his hair.

Lloyd followed him with the eyes. He looked at the blue ninja.

“Can you come later?”

It wasn’t really a question. Jay nodded anyway.

When the door was closed, the master of lightning stayed still. Nobody was talking inside now. Kai was okay, a little nervous, but fine. Yet, he himself didn’t feel good. His chest was heavier than ever. It wasn’t like the discomfort after every new battle, that pinch of sadness. It was like a terrifying descent. A crater getting bigger inside him.

He started walking. But his head was spinning.

He closed his eyes. Positive thinking. Positive thinking. He needed that. He leaned against the wall. Inventions. Cooking. Poetry. His hobbies. Good. Something else. Ninjitzu. Better. Spinjitzu. Airjitzu, no, ciclon-do. Nunchaku. Fighting for good.

The junkyard. His parents. Which ones?

No. Not now.

Driving through the desert. Microwaved pizza. Better, but not enough.

His breathing felt frantic. Why was this happening? Positive. Positive. He wanted nothing else. He was starting to feel everything, too fast. His body was getting heavier and heavier. His power wasn’t responding. But he needed to be optimistic.

It was his only way to get through this.

He felt a weird sound in the distance. Not answers. Another, no two others, a little closer. Still nothing. Again from the distance, at that point he realized it was the receiver. He quickly went back, grabbed it before it could wake Nya and went to the doorway again.

Nobody answered except himself.

“Hello…?”

“-Jay! You were right! I shouldn’t have acted by my own!-”

“Zane?”

The crater got bigger. The nindroid sounded too agitated.

“-The others are not answering, you’re the only one left! You need to reach me right now! The… are attacking, I can’t deal with… alone! AH!!!-”

“Zane!! What’s happening??”

“-Come to tow-r!! Borg!! On the t-p!! Hur-!!-”

Silence.

“… Zane? Zane, no!! Please, you can’t do this to me!! Answer me!! Talk to me!!” He grabbed his wrist desperate. “Zane!!... Z-Zane?” The signal was gone. The master of ice’s voice was lost. He tried to call him back. There was no receiver to call, apparently.

Jay fell on his knees. It wasn’t happening. It wasn’t possible. He tried to catch his breath. Positive thinking. Positive thinking.

He needed the others.

He went back to Kai’s room. He stopped. He could hear whining from the inside, like when the master of fire had that migraine. He felt sick. He didn’t want that to happen again, he couldn’t bare another situation like that.

Lloyd’s calm voice melted his anxiety.

“Breath, Kai, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Jay really hoped so. He almost knocked. Then he decided not to. If the master of fire felt really that bad, he needed to stay home. Telling him would had just make him want to go more.

Nya was sleeping. He couldn’t wake her up, she was exhausted and sad.

Who else? Sensei and Misako!

He ran towards the master’s room. His heart was pulsating in his head. It was taking too much time. The thought of the master of ice made him go faster.

He opened the door without knocking.

Nobody was there.

“Sensei? Misako?” No answers. “No… no, this can’t be happening! I can’t do it on my own, where are the others?? I can’t bring Kai or Nya, Lloyd needs to stay with the hothead, sensei and Misako are not here, Cole is…!” Where was he? “Cole, where are you??” He ran towards his room. He was wasting too much time. He needed to go, now, before it was too late.

Cole’s room was empty. It felt like a punch on the stomach.

Anxiety was making him feel sick. Going alone? He never went alone on a mission, ever! He wasn’t the green ninja, not a skillful swordsman, not as intelligent as a machine, not strong and devastating, not smart and resourceful. He was the one that couldn’t last long in a fight. He couldn’t risk, Zane was already in trouble. But there wasn’t another ninja there.

Not a ninja.

He gulped. Then sighed, searching on his receiver. He gave them his coordinates almost as a joke, Jay never thought he would had really used them. He waited anxiously.

“-Why hello, ninja. Never thought I would hear from you this early!-”

“I need your help.”

“-Well, I think we can discuss the payment tomorr…-”

“I don’t care what’s the price, I’ll give you all the money you want! But you need to be here in an instant!” Probably for mocking him, an instant passed.

Then a snicker.

“-I’m on my way.-”

***

REX was uncomfortable, not practical and it was bouncing like a ship on heavy seas. But Jay could barely register that. In his mind there was only Zane. He could glimpse Borg’s tower. Worry and adrenaline burnt from the stomach to the throat. His feet were pinching. He wanted, he needed to act immediately.

After a while, he realized Ronin’s eyes on him.

“What?”

“Finally, he talks! Almost ten minutes without a word, you were scaring me to death!” Ronin snickered. “I thought, if the blabbering ninja isn’t talking about his life every living second, then Ninjago will soon meet the apocalypse!” He was tapping on the wheel since they left for the tower. It looked like an automatic gesture, besides being annoying.

Jay rolled his eyes.

“Sorry if I’m not entertaining while one of my closest friends is in danger!”

“Apologies accepted. Even if they would come out better with an explanation. You have a team of five, maybe six, members and yet, I’ve been called and you’re the only one I came to pick up. Me, the guy that saved you as much as tried to kill you!” Ronin laughed. “What happened? Argument between ninja? Someone forgot to put down the ninja toilet seat?”

The blue ninja lowered his eyes.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“As I said, the end is near! Maybe I should talk? Someone made me realize that the alternative of conversation is just awkward pauses. Which I’m not a fan of.” Ronin smiled. “Just so you know, after you destroyed Stiix and my shop in the process, I got to find a new and safer place, with no possible cursed realms nearby! I even have new merchandise, weapons, lamps, cloths, all made in deepstone! Since, you know, people are still a little wary about ghosts.”

Jay gave him a look.

“As long as it doesn’t involve Cole…”

“Relax, I’m not dumb! Besides, it’s not like the people of Ninjago don’t know about a ghost ninja!-.

“… wait, cloths? Deepstone cloths?”

“Mhm, if you weld it in a particular way, they became pretty soft. Most of metals react that way.”

“Sounds unnaturally professional from you… almost there.” Jay sighed. “Hold on Zane, I’m coming.” The tower looked pretty normal. For now, nothing anomalous.

Ronin kept his eyes on him in silence. Then he inserted the autopilot, leaning in a more comfortable way on the pilot seat.

“Can we have a serious discussion, Jay?”

The master of lightning huffed.

“With you?”

“I might be a jerky cheater, but I do have feelings! But besides jokes, I wanted to ask… does Nya have a thing for one of you?”

He almost fell on his seat.

“Does it sound like a question to make right now??”

“Actually yes, since by how much you guys like me, the possibilities of us seeing again were as miserable as the shares of that tea farm of yours. I’m just saying that because… I mean, she’s really pretty, skillful, and has quite the charming attitude. I was thinking about it, but for someone so stubborn, I have to know if there’s concurrence. You know, like every good business man.” Ronin gave him an eye. “So?”

The blue ninja was left open-mouthed. A thousand of possible answers came into his brain, so many good excuses, or the simple reality – she was a samurai, now an elemental master, do you have a dead wish? It almost gave him a headache.

Then he thought about Nya, crying over her brother’s unmoving body.

“I… I don’t think she would be up for it, in this period.”

“That’s not what I asked. Did you, by example, ever got with her? You look like the kind of guy who would just fall for the first girl he met!”

He blushed.

“She wasn’t the first and that’s not true!” … right?

“Whatever. Thinking about it she’s too cool for you anyway.”

“If you really wanna know yes, we were a couple, and for a lot of time! Besides, Nya is not an easy girl and she doesn’t get fool by someone just because he is “the bad boy”! She’s an independent and determinate girl, so if you really want to hit on her you better be prepared, because it won’t be an easy journey!” It felt really weird parting for his ex. Confusing, but not bad.

Robin hummed loudly, while finally attempting to landing.

“Interesting.” And the conversation was over.

They landed not too far, fortunately REX could be silent when it was needed. Jay’s elemental dragon would had been way too flashy. They hid behind the nearby buildings, with a good view on the entrance of the big tower.

It made him feel sick realizing who was guarding the entrance.

“Like Cole’s father.” They were looking around like they didn’t know the place, but somehow never getting too far away from the building. As with Mr. Brookstone, they looked pretty much like citizens corrupted by an unknown poison.

Ronin gave him a confused look.

“What the heck are those things?”

“Misako called them “chimeras”, they are… well, I’m not really sure. But we can’t hurt them, they are supposed to be real people corrupted by something… somehow.” How Jay wished he had Zane’s magic into explaining things.

“As clear as a diamond…” Ronin rolled his eyes. “So, what’s the plan? I distract them while you go in ninja style?” He had his aeroblade in his hand, still useful even without ghosts.

The master of lightning smiled slightly.

“Too obvious?”

“Kinda, but it doesn’t look like we have a better choice, since it’s just the two of us. For the prize I have in mind, I’ll keep them busy enough for Kai to finally learn how to negotiate! Leave it to me!” He winked and jumped towards the entrance so suddenly that the first two chimeras were already knocked down. But the rest of the army was on him immediately.

He was indeed different from a ninja, he didn’t have a precise fighting style. Even so his skills were incredible and he could keep up like any other warrior. He knew his purpose and didn’t hurt them unnecessarily, still managing to give them a hard time. Jay knew, at least with a payment, that jerky cheater was the perfect ally.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the blue ninja entered the building. Using the elevator would had been the stupidest thing to do, and by stairs he would had taken too much time. He looked up to see the network of air ducts on building’s high ceiling. He used airjitzu – which may or may not involved him whispering “ciclon-do” –, and at the last second kicked the entrance.

He made it, forcing his arms to pull himself in. The duct was cold, with a metallic smell. Jay started to pulling on with his elbows, crawling inside. He was going on slowly, turning left and right a couple of times, until the duct went up through various floors. He managed to get up, between the metal walls round him.

He inhaled deeply, pointing his hands towards the ground.

“Come on, you did this thousands of times, even in television!” Not the best period of his life, but still. “I just need power to fly towards the top, find Zane and get us both out of here. Piece of cake. Nothing easier. Bingo bongo. Just one big shock, come on!” He concentrated the energy, it was pulsing against his fingers. “Come on!! Please!!” Nothing. Not even a little lightning.

Jay screamed in frustration, kicking the wall. Why weren’t his powers working? He didn’t have the time to figure out another riddle! Zane needed him!

He needed to get to the top, no matter how. He needed a push, or an elevator. Or something else. Anything else!

Then, it hit him. Anything… even nothing?

He looked at his own hands. Thinking about it, it was almost unbelievable that he never tried to use the void on his own. He didn’t know the process, he didn’t know how to make it work properly. He just knew he had a nindroid in danger on the last floor of that giant building. He needed a hand, a power. And if not the lightning…

Again, with his hands facing the floor. He tried to call the power, but he could only feel the electricity through his veins. He needed to summon it in another way. Lightning was like bursting out, like a stream of energy going on the outside. Emotions. Maybe that was the point? He really wasn’t the abstract kind of guy, but it sounded reasonable. He needed another approach, another way to think about it. No emotions? But he didn’t feel apathetic the other times. The opposite, he felt like every part of himself was unleashed by a feeling.

One single emotion.

He clenched his fists. One emotion? Right now, it didn’t feel possible. What happened to Kai scared him so much, what was happening made him feel worried, the thought of Cole’s dad frustrated him, knowing how fragile Nya was felt both nice and upsetting. Concentrating was not his thing. Finding a minute of silence, boy, that was almost impossible.

But he could try. Like he always did.

He closed his eyes. Breathing slowly. Ignoring all the time he was spending. He needed to forget about everything. And concentrate about just one thing, the important thing. Zane. Please let him be safe. Save him. Take me to him.

His chest vibrated. He was starting to recognize that weird void inside. It wasn’t a crater of bitterness, more like a primordial call from his inner self. The void itself inside him. He opened his eyes, and then looked down. Under his feet there was a transparent platform. It was perfectly shaped to go up through the air duct. Like an elevator.

Jay could see his reflection again. Those blue eyes. That power.

And he had the control over it. He raised his hands. He could feel his own weight being pushed up, a little slowly, then more and more easily. His concentration was at his higher point. The more he was focusing, the faster he was getting.

He almost laughed. It was different from the emotional explosion the lightning always gave to him. It was more like a wave of nothingness that was slowly getting out of his body, taking form. But he could still feel it, and so control it. He was one with it, because it was one with him. His body was in a specific position. He couldn’t move, couldn’t stop concentrating. His mind was void and full at the same time.

He felt a scream. Zane.

The platform broke. The dizziness climbed to his head. He fell probably for an entire floor before grabbing one of the horizontal entrances of a duct. He sighed in relief. His heartbeat was frantic. But he needed to go on. He was almost there, but he was even more anxious than before. No time for the void now. Using hands and feet, he climbed the duct vertically, repeating himself not to look down like the cartoon character he was… wait, what?

He finally reached a passage. Under him there was the top floor, the one they met Borg the first time. And he was there, surrounded by chimeras.

“Please, let me go! I need to rebuild him! If we don’t do something he’ll…!”

Jay widened his eyes. There was something on the ground. Someone.

He kicked the grate with both of his legs, jumping in the room. With his spinjitzu he knocked down the chimeras that had Borg in their grasps, then he engaged in combat with the remaining three. His electrical power managed only to shock them and allow him to finish with his nunchaku. He could only stunt them, it was enough. Alone it was difficult, but he wasn’t a ninja for nothing.

As soon as he finished, he turned to Borg.

The inventor was kneeled on the ground, near a destroyed nindroid.

Jay felt the crater inside him getting huge.

“Zane!!” He got near quickly, hurting his knees in the process.

The master of ice was on the ground, his eyes turned off and his chest open. That sight made him feel sick. His internal parts were spread on the floor like organs. His arm was crooked, there were many scratches on his body. And a specific piece, that circle of light blue energy, was broken in half, and only one of the two was present. His heart was broken.

Jay tried to take it. He immediately felt a strong burn. It was like touching liquid azote, so cold it hurt. His hand felt like it was on fire.

Borg looked terrified.

“We need to fix him, pronto! Please, give me your assistance!” He already had a screwdriver in his hand. And even if he requested, he probably knew he didn’t need to ask.

With the two of them, they quickly put together all the missing pieces.

Jay could hardly look at his brother’s spent eyes.

“Who did all this?”

“I’m not entirely sure, I just know that the system today had problems and someone took advantage of it, getting inside during today’s school trip in my tower. My nindroids were shut down and then those creatures attacked.” Borg sighed. “I thought I was being careful. Apparently, I’m still far from being an inventor capable of really contribute to Ninjago.” He put in one of the latest pieces. Only the heart was missing.

Jay ripped off his sleeve and rolled over his hand. He then took the piece and put it right in his place, even if it was only half of it. Borg finished with the last checks and switched Zane on. The nindroid gulped. Then turned off again.

The blue ninja felt lost.

“What happened??”

Borg furrowed his forehead.

“As I feared, his titanium constitution can’t be sustained just by half of his power source.”

Jay looked around. No more pieces.

“Where is the rest??”

“A stranger took it, they were here while the creatures attacked. They almost took it all, but Zane managed to set himself free and keep one half. But it’s not enough for his body… and also…” Borg pointed at the half. From the broken side sparks of energy were slowly getting out. The light blue energy was getting lost.

The master of lightning hiccupped. He clinched his fists.

“W-We need to do something!! Anything!! Another energy source, another way to conduct power, you have to have ideas!! Please, Borg!!”

Cyrus gave him a terrified look.

“The system is still off and the energy source I have comes from it, it will take at least an hour to have it back!” They didn’t have an hour, not even a full minute. “More pieces wouldn’t help, we need something else, like a different container or something!”

“… Container?” Jay widened his eyes. It was the slimmest hope. Maybe he was overestimating a power that, at the end, was pretty much just glass.

But there wasn’t the time to think rationally.

He took out the little globe he made at Cliff’s house. It was little, but as soon as the idea came to his mind it changed its form. It became flat, then a hole appeared in the center. At the end it looked like a wheel, with the same measures as Zane’s broken heart. Jay put it on the remaining half. He closed his eyes, hoping it wasn’t a hopeless idea. That one of his plans was going to work, for once.

That his brother wasn’t going to leave them again.

He opened. The energy was inside his circle now. It burnt, but he ignored it. He carefully placed it on his place. His hands were screaming, but he didn’t care. Borg immediately started working on it. Again, he tried to switch him on.

Zane stayed still. For five, terrifying seconds.

Then he blinked and woke up like any other person. He looked at Borg, visibly relieved and incredibly tired. Then at Jay. He smiled.

“Thanks for coming for me.”

The master of lightning hugged him with everything he had. He put his burnt hands on the nindroid’s freezing back. He felt like breathing again. Like flying. He felt good. Zane was good. His heart, a heart Jay himself created, was beating against his chest like it was human.

He didn’t let go of him for a while.

Suddenly, he heard a scream. The chimeras he defeated had woken up. They looked at them and, suddenly, they crashed the window jumping out of the building. The two ninja ran towards it, seeing them falling on the ground heavily, then running away.

The white ninja exhaled, incredulous.

“That is not an ability possessed by most of common living creatures.”

Jay almost cried.

“I missed you so much.” In that moment Ronin came in. “You defeated them?”

Ronin shrugged.

“After a while they stopped and started screaming. Then they left, faster than I expected from a bunch of octopuses. But it looks like you already resolved the situation here. Everything ended up okay, right? At least Jay’s gonna start talking again!” He had that snazzy attitude, but he looked pretty happy to see the master of ice safe and sound.

Zane smiled. Then glared at Jay and gasped.

“What happened to you?? You need to medicate right now!!” He grabbed his wrists gently.

The blue ninja blinked. He looked at his hands. There were purple and red burns, and they hurt pretty bad. It felt weird, he could hardly feel it. It almost made him laugh.

“Guess I touched your heart! Didn’t expect it to be so cold!” Bad puns, his best medicine. He sighed in relief right after.

Zane gave him an unbelieving look.

“My…? My heart is cold??”

Jay furrowed his forehead.

“Well, yeah. I mean, it wasn’t before, but when Lloyd gave up his golden power I guess…”

!The heart of ice is mine… ah! The heart of ice is mine! Of course! How could I not get it sooner?? It was so clear, this must be the answer!! Zane could barely stay still. He immediately got up, so energetic he seemed to be able to summon his dragon in any second.

Right now.

The blue ninja grabbed his arm.

“Don’t you dare disappear again! You got it bad, we should at least check you!”

The master of ice gave him an anxious look.

“But…!”

“Jay is right. And also, we might be able to discover the identity of the one that took that part of you power source. Let me have a scan of your brain circuits, and we might find at least a blurry picture of that stranger. It might be enough.” Borg pushed his wheels towards the computers. Most of them were pretty bad looking, but the main one looked fine.

Zane sighed. He got closer to the monitor and insert the wire in his head. It was obvious he wanted to go as soon as possible, he kept looking outside.

Jay got closer, grabbing a screwdriver from Borg’s desk. He started to work on his arm, putting it on the right sense. Then he checked every part of him. He didn’t want to forget something. The thought of what could had happened made him shiver.

The master of ice kept looking at him kindly. He seemed way less tense.

“Echo says hi. He said he misses your administrations, gizmo is not as good as you.”

Jay smiled.

“You should totally let the others meet him, everybody will surely love him! Of course, when you’ll tell us what’s going on in that tin head of yours.” He moved his arm, it looked fine. “Take your time, but we want you home… especially in this period.” The screwdriver slipped from his hand. The slap. After hours, he still couldn’t accept it.

Zane looked surprised. He grabbed the tool and handed over to him.

“I will, I promise. I just need to find out one last thing.”

Jay nodded. Borg waved towards them.

“I think I got something! Take a look.” He typed something on the computer.

The screen showed a picture. There was someone, tall like a normal Ninjago citizens – what a great clue – and with a black hoodie on his face. He was mostly hidden but a little part of his chin. He was holding the piece of Zane’s heart in his hands like it wasn’t painfully freezing. Jay felt shocked by that view.

Borg went back to work. The picture got littler in the screen, while a loading bar appeared. Than another window opened, showing a database full of faces.

The blue ninja widened his eyes.

“I thought those kind of things belonged to the police!-.

“Let’s just say they can do little without me. Or you guys, for the matter.” Borg smirked. “We should be able to have a result in a couple of days. We might get many suspects, or no one, since in this classification there are only official Ninjago’s inhabitants. I hope it will be useful.” He disconnected the wire from Zane’s head.

The master of ice immediately ran to the window, opening it. A freezing wind hit all of them, the sun was up but covered by many upcoming clouds.

He turned to Jay.

“I’ll be home for dinner. It’s my turn, right?”

The blue ninja smiled, watching him flying away on his ice dragon.

“You would save our life.”

***

“Thank you so much, really!”

“-Again, Jason, it’s nothing. You’re worrying too much about it, it was for a fair cause. Besides, there’s no reason to keep all this money. I needed to spent some of them.-” Jay could even hear Cliff smiling only from the voice. Like he was fascinated by his discomfort.

The blue ninja sighed. He felt guilty, extremely. He did not consider Ronin’s thirst for money and retrieving the prize from the bank with the name Cliff Gordon had been an awful idea. He had never seen so many zero if not in a binary code.

“But I did it without even asking!”

“-My fortune is your fortune. Did I ever tell you you’re in my testament?-”

He almost bumped into the door, after Ronin literally threw him on the bounty. Too many emotions today, maybe he was going to try the elemental dragon later. He put his shoes near the entrance, a thing they had started to do after realizing after-training shoes were pretty smelly.

“For real??”

Cliff laughed.

“-You’ve always been in it. And since my parents are not here anymore, and I don’t have any over relatives, you’re pretty much the only name on it.-” There was the feeble sound of pages between one sentence and the other. “-I’m sure Lynn would agree. She never had parents.-”

Jay hummed sadly.

“Must’ve been hard for both of you.”

“-But we found each other in this life, so it doesn’t matter anymore. Sorry Jason, but I’m not great at multitasking, reading and talking with you is getting pretty complicated.-”

He giggled.

“How’s going with that?”

“-For now, nothing much. Classic speed for a master of lightning and the true potential. Things I assumed you knew already.-”

He nodded. So his mother knew about that too.

“I’ll let you study, then. See ya, dad.”

“-Bye, Jason.-” The call ended.

He could here loud voices without even been in the room. He opened the room, and the realization of what was happening didn’t hit him until it did. With a bowl of porridge, slowly coming down from his face and dropping on the ground. He really didn’t know how to react.

He wiped the thing from his eyes. Finally, a little of clearance.

There were Kai, Nya, Lloyd, sat down at the table with worried looks. There was sensei Wu, right at his left like he just moved there. And there was Misako, with his hand extended towards him. Like she just threw something. Like a big container of an awful food.

Jay tried to talk, but the archeologist immediately anticipated him.

“Why didn’t you tell me Lynn is your mother??”

The blue ninja paled. Her hate looked even more evident right now. How did she even find out? He looked at his master, in his aware, guilty eyes. And suddenly it was evident. He fought alongside all the masters of elements.

“You knew…” He whispered incredulous, but Wu probably heard him anyway. The old man looked so tired.

Misako grabbed the blue ninja by the shoulders.

“That woman ruined me and my work! She destroyed all we had built together because she did not care! She never thought about me, or my family, or our destiny! The prophecy…!” She hiccupped. “The green ninja! The final battle! Everything! If only I had more time, I would’ve prevented it! I wouldn’t have made that terrible mistake! My s-son… my husband… they suffered so much, they didn’t deserve it!! If only… I had more time…” She lost her voice in sobs, with her hand still tightened around him. But the anger was gone, there was only bitterness.

Lloyd got up in that moment, hugging his mother from behind, slowly calming her down until she let go. Kai looked perplex, but also startled, and he was avoiding the old man’s glare at all costs. Kinda like Nya, the only one who was staring at the blue ninja instead. She still had dark circles, the poor girl.

The green ninja leaded his mother at the table, caressing her back.

Jay didn’t know if joining was a good idea. It wasn’t the warm place he was waiting for. But as soon as a wrinkly hand touched his shoulder, he kinda knew it was that moment. The explanation time, by none other than sensei Wu.

The master looked confident, but also begging. He pointed at the door with his head.

As soon as they were out of the room, the blue ninja breathed.

“… you knew my real mother.” He didn’t want to sound accusing… maybe just a bit.

Wu sighed bitterly.

“I know I should’ve told you…”

“No, please, don’t start! I’ve had enough of this, even after joking about it! Every time you have something to hide, every time you just wait until you are forced to talk! How can you even do this? Keeping so many secrets without going nuts, it’s crazy! Why do you do that?” Maybe Jay wasn’t in the position to judge, since he still needed to confess more. About today, and the other days.

But he needed to vent, at least to forget what was going on.

The master lowered his gaze. He knew all about it, of course.

“Not the first time someone point this out today.”

“Is this why you started fighting?”

“Not really, I was talking with Nya about Kai. Then I said something about Lynn without thinking and… yeah.” He looked at him apologetically. “I know it wasn’t fair of me hiding it for so long. I know there are not words good enough to apologize, there never are. I feared your reaction, and how the truth was going to affect your relation with your foster parents.”

Jay gulped. He forgot about them, again. He really was the worst.

“… it still hasn’t been a nice moment.”

“I can understand that, but I’m still relieved they decided to tell you. At least I didn’t interfere with this family.” He said that, but Wu didn’t look that satisfied. Tired, mostly, like having to give up that burden made him realize how oppressive it had been.

The blue ninja bit his lip.

“They didn’t exactly tell me by will, it was more like an accident. Whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore.” He leaned against the wall, tired but awake at the same time. “So, you knew Lynn pretty well, I guess. I mean, she was the master of lightning and all, so…”

“To be honest, she was one of the masters I knew less.”

“Really?-.

Wu smiled weakly.

“I was a really close friend with Ray, master of fire. Kai and Nya’s father, as you probably know.” He nodded, they talked about it once. “I obviously knew the master of water, Maya, the mother. But even so, I had few occasions of getting close to the other masters.” Talking about the past always gave his sensei a weird young look. Like he actually had the age that would had explained his incredibly abilities.

The blue ninja furrowed an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“It was never a secret that my brother had been bit by the Great Devourer, since my father didn’t want something bad to happen. Every elemental master was warned about the evilness in his veins. With such a malignant member of the family, many kept distance from me.” Wu sighed slowly. “I never blamed them. I just wish they got to know the real Garmadon.”

Jay nodded. An evil lord as much as he wanted, but sensei G still was one of the most honorable man he had ever met.

“So you never met her?”

“I did, but not frequently. I don’t think she wanted to avoid me, but the other masters didn’t want her to talk to me. They were really protective, mostly because they cared a lot.” Sensei Wu suddenly seemed thoughtful. “One of the few times she talked to me, I’ll always remember it… she asked me not to tell Misako that she was the master of lightning.”

Jay widened his eyes.

“Wait, what?”

“It’s true. Misako never knew… until a couple of minutes ago. She took it pretty badly, since I hid it from her for a really long time. After knowing that, it was natural connecting Lynn and you.” Wu preened his beard. “I can’t tell why she made that decision, since I was aware of how close they were. At least until she did what she did. It was so sudden nobody could’ve predicted that. Not even the ones that knew her the best.”

Jay was scratching his elbow nervously, feeling the cloth of his gi grinding against his skin. This didn’t answer to his questions. So, she was good? She was bad? None? Both?

“Besides Misako, who was she with?”

“From what I know, she was a really good friend with the master of ice, one of the oldest, probably the wisest. I can’t remember the name thought, he didn’t like to be around me either.” Wu smiled. “She also had a pretty particular bond with the master of earth. Sometimes they were as close as siblings, sometimes they were fighting terribly. This before, but also after earth betrayed us. He still managed to gain her trust again.”

The blue ninja snickered. Definitely familiar, and the thought that, even after that terrible moment, they stayed good friends was comforting.

“Kinda ironic.”

“One of the reasons I contacted you two firsts.”

“… do you happen to know where is her?”

Wu shook his head.

“Not her, not most of the elemental masters. Not even Ray. I would give all my knowledge and strength to know where they are now. But all we can do is wait and praying the first Spinjitzu Master they are okay.”

Jay felt his eyes closing. He wasn’t hungry, these days seemed just a bunch of hours made of sadness, relief and rest.

“Sensei, I think I’ll go in my room.”

Wu smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Rest, you need it. I know what you did for Kai, and I’m really proud of you.” He tightened his grab, and the blue ninja felt all his comfort.

He walked slowly, knowing it was lunch time but not feeling it. All he could sense was that this day was getting infinite. His eyes were tired and his hands were still pulsing from the icy burns. He wanted to lie down, close his eyes and not think for a couple of hours. Maybe Zane was going to be back and stopped keeping secrets.

He opened his door, already expecting his bed made by Nya.

He did not expect the darkness. The curtain was covering the window, but not completely. A weak source of light was making another presence clear.

Jay managed to get used to the darkness enough to see him.

“What the… Cole?” A smile appeared without him thinking. It felt like he hadn’t seen him in days. The master of earth was near the window, pretty dark looking even in his greenie ghostly appearance.

He looked at the blue ninja, his tired eyes shined.

“Jay…”

The master of lightning moved towards him.

“You have no idea how happy I am to…!”

He put a foot on the ground and froze. He slowly lowered his eyes. He could feel something wet under his foot. No, not wet. Slimy. There was a dark spot, large and sprayed on the floor, like someone coughed it.

Blood. It was blood.

Cole smiled weakly at him.

“Good to see… you too…” He made a step, and then he fell.

Jay could almost see the scene in slow-motion. He asked how much destiny wanted to test him, until it considered itself satisfied. He immediately grabbed his best friend, leading him on the bed. He but a hand on his stomach. His hand got wet too.

He felt like crying.

“You’re hurt… you’re wounded, Cole! You’re bleeding! And you’re a ghost, how did that even happened?? Who attacked you??” The cut was pretty long, but the part was covered in blood and it was hard to see. “No no no, it’s horrible! You need to be medicated this instant! Hey, stay awake, okay? Come on, keep your eyes open!” Cole seemed lost, not sleepy. “Now I… what can I do? Ah! I fix things, not people! Maybe I should… ah! Kai is good at bandaging, if I just…!”

“No!!” Cole grabbed his wrist. “Don’t call him!! You can’t tell anybody!!”

The blue ninja widened his eyes. His friend was begging with his eyes.

“Cole, you’re injured! I need help!”

“Please, no! If you do the others will question it! And they will treat him even worse! They wouldn’t let me help him!” The black ninja clenched his fists. “I can’t let him be taking away from me, I need to be there for him! So… please… don’t tell anybody. Please.” He looked straight in his eyes, like it was his last resort.

The blue ninja was petrified. He slowly sat on his bed. His mind was floating on a cloud. It was too intense, too strong, everything was too much. And he was too tired.

“… it was your dad.” Cole nodded slowly. “B-But I can’t leave you like this, I need help!” His hands were shaking. With every second he could almost hear the blood leaving Cole’s body.

The master of earth bit his lip.

“They can’t keep me away from him. It’s my dad. It’s my dad!!” He put his hands on Jay’s shoulders. “Please, I’m asking you as my best friend!” He was looking at him like he was asking not to be killed.

Jay hesitated. It wasn’t a wise decision, he didn’t know what to do and the black ninja looked close to pass out for exhaustion. But slowly, he nodded. He couldn’t say no to that request, not to Cole.

“We still need something for you.”

“If you find some bandages, I know what to do. You can help me.”

“Alright.” Jay ripped off the other sleeve of his gi. “Press this on your wound, for now. D-Don’t close your eyes, okay? I’ll be right back.” He didn’t get up immediately. He looked at his friend, desperate and suffering but still with that determination.

He really envied him.

He left the room, making sure to close the door and almost letting himself fall on the nearby wall. His throat was on fire. But he didn’t have the time to feel bad. He needed to act fast, so he ran. Tired, hurt, anxious. Since he got back from Borg Tower he didn’t feel good. Or maybe since before, he really couldn’t tell.

They had a cupboard in the training room full of the needed, in case they got injured during practice. Fortunately, the others were probably still at the lunch table, so the room was clear.

Unfortunately, destiny just loved to prove him wrong.

“Hey, Jay!” Kai. The one he reanimated with one foot in the grave, was beating up the punching bad like he had enough energy for three serpentines.

The blue ninja shivered. He tried to smile.

“Hey… what are you doing here?”

A loud kick.

“After sensei got back, Misako started bickering with him again, no idea about what.” Two precise punches. “She looked really mad! At some point Lloyd leaded her in her room for calming down, while Nya took Wu, saying she still wanted to know… no idea what she was referring to.” Two flying kicks, that echoes in the room.

Jay swallowed, his eyes were locked at the cupboard. It was on the wall behind Kai. Maybe he was distracted enough to not notice him.

“Aha… anything else I should know?”

“Mm, maybe answering something. Who’s Lynn?”

He almost tripped.

“What? Who? How?”

“Misako said that name. She said she’s your… but that can’t be! One of many things I did not get about the conversation. Today I’m not exactly on the situation.” He was still venting against the target. His voice was pretty normal, but his hits were powerful. He probably had a lot in mind.

Jay leaned against the wall, proceeding step by step. His eyes were on Kai’s back, the sweat on his shoulders, the muscles that stirred after every punch.

“Well, you know… it’s something I meant to tell you, all of you. At this point you’re kinda the last one.”

“Better late than never, I guess.”

He was close. He extended the hand to reach the cupboard.

“Edna’s not… my mother. And Ed’s not my father. They adopted me.”

“Wait, what?? You’ve been…!!” Kai turned around immediately. Then froze.

Jay bit his tongue. Of course, he would had worried him. And his hand was already on the cupboard, so there was no way to hide his intentions.

“Well… it’s not what is looks like.” His brain was in blackout. But he promised to shut up.

Kai looked confused. Than he choked a scream.

“How did you get that??”

The blue ninja followed his gaze, oblivious. Then he remembered. His hands were covered in purple and red bubble, a little burnt on the surface. He almost forgot about it, they hurt. But he just didn’t care at that point.

He tried to talk. He looked at Kai.

Alive. So alive.

“I was… Zane called and… I needed to do something, he was going to…! I was alone, I didn’t know what to do and…!” He was struggling to talk. And it felt so out himself he almost felt sick. He didn’t want to think about that moment, nor the one before that. He wanted it all to go away.

The red ninja got closer, worried.

“Whoa, easy there! What are you talking about?”

“I don’t… not now… I’ll tell you later, maybe Zane will, but right now I can’t!” Jay put his hands on his eyes. “Everything is crumbling, the Walkers, Cole’s dad, you, Zane! Why is this even happening?? It was easy before, now… now…” He wanted to cry so badly. But he refused to go through everything that was going to comport.

The master of fire put a hand on his shoulder. It was warm.

“Jay, breath, calm down. I really don’t get it…”

The blue ninja nodded quietly.

“It’s okay, it’s just… it all went so bad after finding out about my parents.”

“Well, I do know a thing or two about having a hard time thinking about your parents. You don’t have to keep it all for you, you know?” Kai was staring him with kindness, a rare but meaningful moment. “You can talk with me, or Nya, or anybody else really! We are all kinda messed up from that point of view!” It managed to make him smile slightly. “No matter what, you’re not alone, okay? For your wounds, your hands look pretty much burnt. What was it, liquid azote?”

“Not exactly… but still something freezing.”

“Can’t be too sure about that, I’m not that expert, but until we call a real doctor…” He grabbed some bandages. “This will do. You want me to help?”

Jay inhaled deeply. Kai was comforting. He was prideful usually, but he never stopped caring about all of them. There were moments, like this one, in which the blue ninja could feel all his warm.

He smiled, taking the objects.

“I can do it. I didn’t know you were good at this.” His last medication went really well in fact, he wound basically disappeared.

The master of fire shrugged.

“I did it a lot with me and Nya when we were little, it’s just something that stuck.” He took gently his wrists, avoiding the painful parts. “No matter what happens, you still have me. You have all of us. As iron sharpens iron…” He smirked.

Jay couldn’t help but smiled back.

“Brother sharpens brother. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

He quickly reached his room again. He had what he needed, and maybe even something for himself. Not that it was first priority. His hands were important for using lightning. And in this period, it seemed like a really hard thing to do.

As soon as he was at his door, he felt a wave of relief. He looked at his hands and almost screamed.

They were perfect, completely healed.

“How…?” No time for hysteria. It wasn’t the right moment.

He got in and immediately close the door. For a second, he couldn’t move. Cole had removed the upper part of his gi. He was still pressing the blue sleeve, now soaked with blood, against his wound. He was even paler than before. His eyes were lucid and unfocused.

Jay sat near him.

“I have the bandages.”

“Come here, I’ll show you.”

He followed his orders, trying to stop his fingers from trembling. It wasn’t like with a non-breathing thing, where he could easily tell he had a pretty steady hand. With a human body it was different. with Cole’s body was different. Too sensible, too alive. He feared every touch. The black ninja led his hands around his abs, covering the wounded part. The master of earth cleaned it as best as he could. It didn’t look very professional but asking for help wasn’t an option apparently.

They finished pretty quickly. Cole was closing his eyes every now and then. He looked exhausted, so the blue ninja tried to use those unconscious moments to finish the medication on the most sensible parts.

When it was over, he leaned against the wall.

“I prefer robots.”

“Sorry I did not meet your expectations, Zaptrap.”

He smiled.

“You have no idea how much I missed this.”

“I’ve been off only for a day.”

“You have no idea how much it was.”

Having him near made Jay feel already more confident. He was his rock, his best friend. Everything went bad while he wasn’t there, but now it was better. Cole was here. He was strong and mighty like always. He was the constant that made Jay go on. No matter how much things were getting bad, he was always going to make it through.

Because it was Cole.

Then… why was he smiling like he lost all hopes? Why ghost tears were filling the room? Why didn’t he care he went straight into his room bleeding?

He looked at Jay. Those were the saddest eyes he had ever saw.

“I never realized before but… our motto is pretty frustrating. Ninja never quit. It’s so natural for Kai or Zane, they would go through the end of the world without a problem. Not that I wouldn’t… but I can’t avoid to ponder the alternative.” He hugged his knees. “The easy way, you know? The one that doesn’t force you to suffer just because giving up is out of the question. It’s awful, terrible. But sometimes I really question myself if quitting is really the wrong choice.” He kept smiling and crying. So lost in his emotions Jay never saw him before.

It was devastating. For once, he managed to keep it from himself the pain. Not screaming, not whining. Outside there was nothing that he was feeling so terribly inside.

He swallowed hardly.

“It’s not weird.”

“But it’s not fair. Because… the alternative to do everything in order to save my dad is abandon him. And I don’t want this. But I don’t wanna see him every day fighting against whatever poison is affecting him!” Cole started shaking. “I thought it was a good thing, not giving up. I thought it was the answer. But I don’t wanna keep holding on. I just want my father back, without suffering this much! Is it too much to ask?” He looked at the blue ninja straight in the eyes. “Tell me! Is this too much to ask?!?” He raised his voice.

It felt like a knife, right in his chest.

The master of lightning opened his mouth. Then closed it. He bit his lip.

“… it’s not.” He held a hiccup. “It’s… it’s not fair.”

Cole nodded desperately. He put his forehead on his shoulder, sobbing. His ghostly body was shaking terribly. It went through him for a second. It was almost inconsistent. Because his mind was not focused. It was confused, sad, desperate. Misty tears were circling them.

Jay closed his eyes. The black ninja was really cold. He wanted to cry. So much. But not like this. Not on a ghost. He couldn’t hurt him more.

The master of earth’s sobs started to get weaker. He wasn’t going to stay awake for long, tired and hurt as he was. He was probably going to fall asleep soon.

The master of lightning hoped his dreams were going to be more serene than reality.

***

It rained. All of Ninjago City was gray and wet, drops jumped on every road and building. The sky was so gray it looked like the roof of a prison, meant to trapped every inhabitant under a ceiling of cement. His dragon was perfectly fused with the storm. One with it, and the lightnings around were following it like they were part of its army.

But Jay failed at keeping him until the end. A few meters before the villa it disappeared. He tripped in a puddle. He was cold and now covered in mud. The rain was getting heavy, on his face and his body. It was fresh. But his eyes were burning.

He dragged himself to the gat, pushing him. He ran through the garden, as fast as he could. Because the more time he spent alone, the more space the memories had.

He ringed the bell. He didn’t the first time. He wondered why.

Cliff opened after a while. He smiled at first, then he noticed his appearance.

“Jason, what…??”

Jay pushed himself inside. The door closed.

He cried. He cried because Kai almost died that day. He cried because Nya suffered too much. He cried because Zane risked to never awaking again. He cried because his mom was bad, or good, and in both cases, he was following her footsteps. He cried because his best friend was his rock, and he broke. He cried because he wasn’t able to help him. To help anyone.

His father was speechless.

Jay grabbed him for the shoulders.

“I need to get stronger! I need to know what I have to do in this prophecy! I don’t wanna be the useless joker anymore! I don’t wanna be just a comic relief without purpose! I need to get better, but I don’t know how! Help me!” He was struggling to breath. “I need to know, please! I need to increase my power! I have to do my part! I have to help them!” He was covered in rain, but he was still sweating. “I can’t… I don’t… wanna cry… anymore…” His vision was fading, it was hard to see the worried eyes of the man in front of him.

He felt grabbed. Cliff too had strong arms. Not exactly like Cole, the master of earth was all muscled up, and it felt caring. These were solid, and dependable. A different kind of attention.

“Jason, what’s happening to you?” He felt a hand on his forehead. “You’re burning up!!” His fingers were really cold. He wondered why.

He couldn’t stand anymore. It happened often lately. It was getting way too hot. He couldn’t see anymore. Or maybe he could, and it was impossible to understand what was happening. His arms felt weak. The world started to spin.

What did he say? Fever? Oh, yeah. He didn’t sleep that day. He barely ate in the last period. Last time he fasted it was for protest, when Ed took his tool box because he broke the lamp and didn’t tell them. Lying is worse than making mistakes, he always told him.

Jay smiled. Then, the _void_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... yep, I like make my favorites suffer ^ ^  
>  Okay, I feel sorry, sorry Jay T-T
> 
> This chapter was probably a little confusing, since all of the subplots that doesn't heavily include Jay are mentioned, but not explained. I promise, we'll have more clear answers the next chapter! I admit, I had a lot of fun writing about Ronin, he's just too cool XD And I had fun writing angst. Even if I can't AT ALL read it before going to sleep (I don't wanna have my heart broken, or I can't even close my eyes), I have that sick love for it I think we all have ^^"
> 
> I don't have much to say, if not that... there's a reference to another show, anyone got it? I hope so! ^ ^
> 
> Well, that's all for today guys! Thanks for all the comments and the kudos! <3  
> See ya!! Byee!!


	5. Day Five: "Please... mom, p-please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the explaination chapter! More about what happened with Kai and Zane while Jay was having existential crisis! ^ ^ And about Lynn, of course  
> Most of this is not canon, I just need an explaination for stuff that happened in the show. I understand why the creators prefer not to think about it too much, thinking about timeline and backstories is so unnerving ^^" Things happened, in this world magic exist, DONE!  
> Enjoy! ;)

His throat woke him up. Jay started to cough, and every hit was like getting a needle in his vocal cords. It burnt. And his nose was closed. He tried to swallow and felt the nasty sensation of mucus. He tried to open his eyes. They were dry, but he slowly managed to open them.

He was in another luxurious room. The walls were covered in a pretty fancy blue pinstripe wallpaper. The furniture, a cupboard, a nightstand and a couple of shelves were made out of a dark orange mahogany. There was a collection of Fritz Donegan’s comics in good view – he so wished he was feeling good enough to appreciate it –, a television just a little smaller than the one in the living room and a navy carpet with a suggestive drawing of crossed white lightnings. Everything looked expensive and brand new.

Jay didn’t have to ask who that room was meant for.

His father entered in that moment, carrying a little tray.

“How are you feeling?” He sat on the edge of the bed.

The blue ninja opened his mouth.

“Hurt… throat…” His voice was low and raspy.

Cliff nodded. He took some kind of pill and put it in a glass of water. The white medicine melted in little bubbles. His father helped him on a sitting position, putting a pillow under his back.

“This should help you.” He gave him the glass.

The master of lightning took a sip. He made a disgusted expression.

“Doesn’t taste good.” But it helped, his throat felt better.

“It shouldn’t, it means it works. At least it’s what I heard. Do you feel better? You whined a lot during the night.” He was gently rubbing his shoulder.

It felt kinda nice.

“Night?” Jay coughed again. “What time is it?”

“Almost eight o’clock.”

“What??” More coughs. “I came when it was basically half past three, how much did I sleep?” It happened already before. He didn’t like oversleeping, he had his times and he was precise, making sure not to waste time.

He instantly felt bad.

Cliff gave him a soft look.

“I wouldn’t call that sleeping. You coughed and whined all the time… you also cried, a couple of times. You kept saying it wasn’t fair.” He put the glass back and took a steaming bowl instead.

The blue ninja felt the discomfort. His head hurt. All that happened the day before was starting to come back. Kai, Nya, Zane, Misako, his mother, Cole.

He closed his eyes.

“I-I don’t wanna think about it.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Just so you know, your clock vibrated a lot. I put it on the nightstand, didn’t want that to wake you up.”

He put it back on his wrist. He had at least five calls from every ninja and the master. Except Cole. There were twelve from him. He probably scared them a lot. But for a moment, he wanted, needed, to forget how bad the atmosphere was at home.

“I’ll call them later.”

“By the way, if you feel like it, you should eat something.” Cliff extended him a spoon of soup. “I ordered it, it should be good quality. When I don’t feel good it helps me, usually.” He smiled, a little embarrassed. But seemed more than willing to feed his son.

Jay let him do it. The soup was good. It burnt a little his still sore throat, but it made him realize how hungry he was. He found himself eating on his own, almost without chewing.

As soon as the bowl was empty, he smiled. It really did feel better.

“Thanks.”

“You’re very welcome, son.” Cliff hesitated. “I’m… not really sure if this is the right time to bring out the situation, but…” He took out a journal, with a black lucid cover. “I read a lot of them, this is the only one that might have some different meaning. We can wait until you feel better, of cour-”

“Read it.” The blue ninja clenched his fists. -I need to know.-. There was no time to cry anymore.

His dad gave him a sad look.

“The problem is that I can’t open it. The cover and the locker are fused together, there’s no key or anything. It’s also really resistant, I thought about breaking it but it didn’t work.” He gave it to him.

It looked indeed peculiar, more like a block of black crystal.

Jay furrowed his forehead.

“When did she write this?”

“I… I don’t know. She just had them all together, most of them I didn’t even know they existed. She liked to hide things, I guess.” Cliff sighed.

The blue ninja thought about Misako. It seemed like a constant.

He brushed the surface. It was really hard and cold, but it had something familiar. Not pleasantly familiar. The coldness around his wrists, the feeling of hopelessness, the struggle into finding something positive in the situation, even if only three ninja were left…

A memory hit him full force.

“Vengestone! When we’ve been captured by Chen, the chains were made of this! It’s a particular material that prevent a master to use his element!”

Cliff gave him a surprised look.

“Sounds incredible! So what do we do with it?”

“Well, obviously we… uhm, I still don’t know. I mean, I know it basically sucks all of our powers, but it makes sense only when it’s constantly in contact with us. Besides, this looks like a welded type of vengestone. Did she even know what was the property of it?” At the thought of it, he would had said yes. At least she would had realized her powers disappearing with the contact. With a more “sensible” kind of metal, maybe the reaction was going to be different.

Cliff looked really lost.

“I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time following.”

“Dad, I need to try a thing.”

“Oh, well, okay, I trust your…-. He widened his eyes when he saw the weak lightning hitting the cover. “Jason, what are you…?!?” Then, the sound of unlocking calmed him down. “… classic Lynn, always trying to be original, while I struggle to understand.”

Jay giggled.

“I never thought about it, but vengestone has to react somehow when it takes energy from a master. I guess this wended kind reacts by reducing or increasing, like a metal with heat, and the locker is created keeping this process in mind!-. He opened the journal, feeling a strange wave of excitement. “Can I…?”

Cliff smiled at him.

“Please.”

-

#56

‘allowing to control the power. I can’t believe such a small line couldn’t stay in the other journal! I’ll probably have to number the diaries to remember the last one.

Very well, here comes the interesting part. I have to make sure to put this one in an important place, we don’t want someone not trustworthy to find it, do we? Especially if it’s Toch! For the first Spinjitzu Master, it’s a miracle that he’s not sneaking behind me right now! I love him, but he really needs to learn what personal space is!

… and after checking he’s really not behind me, let us continue.

We discussed a lot of things. One of those, I’m sure you remember, is the true potential. Cool stuff, if it wasn’t for the fact that… it’s pretty much a limitation. Let me explain. As you know, Ninjago has been created by the golden weapons. Same old story all the masters happen to know one way or another.

Wanna know the latest? There might be something more about this legend…

You know fire, ice, earth and of course lightning. But, if you’re reading my notes, you being my son, nephew or even farer away, you know you inherited my power. I’ll make sure of it, I need a locker that react to a power like ours. So, can you tell me why, even people unlike you and me, can easily use our power by holding the Nunchaku of Lightning?’

-

Jay stopped for a second. It was probably the most logical question, and it never ever came into his mind. His mother couldn’t even know he would had become the holder of that weapon, so it was even clearer. Garmadon used it, Wu used it. Everyone could use those weapons, just not together. Even so, he was supposed to be the master of lightning because of his heritage, not because of that weapon.

-

‘Hopefully I gave you something to think about it. We have a question, what is the difference between someone using the Nunchaku of Lightnings and an elemental master of lightning? Remember that this is mostly a way to talk about how to unlock the true power of the lightning, so maybe I’ll say something more complete about the history of Ninjago in another journal. This is just a way to tell you what you need to know to unlock another potential.

The golden weapons have been forged on the Golden Heights. How? Ray is not exactly an historical expert, but he’s a blacksmith and he was able to give me some info. Apparently for a weapon to have some kind of magic, there needs to be a soul in it. A soul made of what, it’s up to the creator, but it must be strong enough to charge the metal, fuse with it, even amplify his strength. Maya filled the holes of his boyfriend’s explanation and said that the soul inside the golden weapons are made of incredible powers. Not even powers, they are wider and more omniscient then an element, but still consistent. Like the essence of this world. Wait, essences, I like it. Let’s call them essences for now.

For example, the Sword of Fire has been forged with gold, and inside of it there’s a special soul, the essence. And the element, the fire? It’s a seal, that prevent the essence to be set free and destroy the weapon. Thinking about a candle, the wax is the golden structure, the little rope is the essence and the fire is the element. The rope allows the candle to be lighten up, but only because there’s fire outside doesn’t mean there is inside. Trust me, if using the Sword of Fire meant using the essence, this world wouldn’t resist much longer.

why, you would probably ask? Think about it, the golden weapons are the strongest weapons of all. What would happen if their original and wildest power got awakened?

I’ll leave it to your imagination.’

-

Jay swallowed. So, the golden weapons weren’t only made out of gold and elements, but also with these essences. Even more powerful than the elements themselves, apparently. In his head, the Nunchaku of Lightning was getting a more complex structure. He couldn’t stop now.

-

‘I think it’s logical, actually. If creating Ninjago was that easy me, Ray, Tochia and Zane would’ve done it by now! An all new Ninjago, why not?’

-

… did he read it correctly? Zane?

The blue ninja widened his eyes. Now he was even more confused! He pretty much knew, being a robot and having spent an amount of time off, Zane was older than all of them, but belonging to the last generation of masters? It sounded a little off. No, really off. That would had meant he knew his mother, and Wu even before becoming a ninja. It couldn’t be.

Unless it was Wu doing a Wu again. Worse, Zane doing a Wu. Hopefully not.

He realized he spaced out looking at the air, because his dad was giving a quizzical look.

“Is everything okay?”

“No. Yes? Not sure, I need to finish it.” Jay touched the remaining pages. “It’s not very big, maybe it’s the last one?”

“Hard to tell, not all of them have numbers on it. I guess she got distracted and forgot.”

Again, she was relatable. Jay wondered how much more he was going to feel similar to her. Questioning himself wasn’t gonna help, so he went back to reading.

-

‘I hope you’re not too confused by all this information, because we’re just getting started! I’m gonna be short on this matter, since we need to talk about our element soon. As I said, the golden weapons are fueled by the essences, that allows the weapon to use the power of the element that sealed them. The essences themselves are pretty ancient, I did my researches and hopefully, when I’ll find the names for it, I’ll write another journal about it!

But I’ll have to be organized, or Zane would be mad… boy, coldblooded how much he wants, he’s so scary when he’s angry!!

Anyway, let’s get back to the lightning! Excited? I hope so, because I’ll tell you the secret to unlock a new meaning of this element. Which is not exactly a secret only for us, I’m pretty sure every elemental master can do it.Whatever I’ll say, it will be something sharable, so… yeah, sharing knowledge is a good thing! Okay, the point to the discussion is, to find the real power of the lightning, you need to go deeper and, most importantly, cut the connection between you and the golden power. Let me explain.

We could easily tell, at least by all the legends, that the first Spinjitzu Master shared the powers to his first generation of masters, to make them able to fight. Which is a good thing, thank you very much, but it’s also our biggest limitation. Because the power he gave us it’s his, but we made it bigger and stronger, using it with our determination and creativity. To the point that it became something new. Pretty much why, in the moment of need, the seals of the golden weapons were made of those elements and not by golden powers. Something even the first Spinjitzu Master couldn’t do, we did.

What I’m saying is, in order to get a new strength, you need to aliment that power yourself, and stop depending from the golden power. Even when we feel like we have all the power, there’s still something that connect us to the original owner.

That, is what needs to change.’

-

Jay thought about when Lloyd got possessed by Morro. All of them were powerless. It made sense. All of them were depending to the holders of the golden power. Lloyd, the first Spinjitzu Master. A belonging, and a limitation.

-

‘Are you getting there? This is the key.

When the true potential is found, it’s like discovering your inner self. It’s a personal thing, that change from person to person. I found it when I realized my place, Ray did when he discovered who his heart belonged to. Those kinds of things.

We need to go beyond that.

So, to find another power, we need to find not ourselves, but the element inside. If the true potential is unleashing our inner force, this “real” potential is about unlocking the strength of the element itself. Mm, I kinda like it, real potential. I think it will be an okay name for now, it doesn’t need to sound ominous or else. So, as soon as you will unlock it, it won’t be about the golden power anymore. It will be about you. Because you will be the element. The holder, the user, the heart, the mind, the embodiment. You will be the lightning.

Ready? I hope so.

The destination is pretty simple… but how about a little riddle? Sorry, I can’t help it! Besides, I don’t want you to get bored. It won’t be too hard, especially if you know one of the ancient alphabets of Ninjago. So, here we go!

“Where you get lost, turning and walking

Called like hero, and death at its ending.”

_Don’t run, just underestimating leads in efforts negated. _

Have fun, holder of the lightning. See you soon.’

-

Jay exhalated. A riddle? Really? That woman really loved to make things hard for him. And those last words, what did those even mean? And that friendly goodbye, like she really meant to meet the one who was going to read??

He so wished to have the brain of a nindroid right now!

His dad took a look, sighing.

“Classic Lynn, fond of mazes as much as of riddles.”

“Mazes…?” The blue ninja read the first part. “Where you get lost, it could be a maze! It would make sense, she must’ve hide something important there! And the rest… well…” How could she give for granted knowing and ancient alphabet?!?

Especially thinking about a guy from a junkyard.

His father was looking at the journal. He read the last page, over and over again, with an unreadable face. Like he didn’t know how to feel about it.

“I don’t really get it…” He whispered.

The master of lightning wasn’t listening to him anyway. He was trying to concentrate, but his head was still pulsing. He massaged his temples. He needed to focus, he couldn’t get stuck only because history was a mystery to him.

He swallowed.

“Well, the only maze I know is Hiroshi’s labyrinth.”

“It’s pretty well known, are you sure about it?” Cliff gave him a concern look. “If it’s the wrong one… don’t you have a friend than knows the ancient alphabet?”

Jay gulped. Misako, for sure. And also Zane, pretty much the master of knowledge. Maybe Kai, since he taught history at Wu’s Academy, and Nya, that knew pretty much everything. Even Cole read a lot and probably knew something.

But the thought of meeting them now made him feel sick.

He put a hand on his stomach, praying the soup was going to stay where it was.

“I don’t wanna see them now. I’ll face them as soon as I’ll unlock this… “real potential” Lynn’s talking about. It’s my only lead, and if I wanna get the quest done, I need to move now! No time to waste!” He went on his feet, trembling a little but soon regaining his balance.

Cliff immediately reached him.

“You’re recovering, Jason. It wouldn’t be wise.”

“If you had the chance to help someone you care about, wouldn’t you do everything in you power to get stronger?” Jay looked at him straight in the eyes. “You don’t understand, I’m tired. Yesterday three of my brothers needed me, and for a miracle they didn’t die! I can’t let something like that happen again, and if nothing changes, I’ll be as useless as I’ve always been!”

His father put a hand on his shoulder.

“Jason…”

“… my best friend is losing his dad. Every day he’s getting further and further from him, and all I can do watch! I need to do something. Anything that might be useful, I don’t care, I’m sick of doing nothing! I need to help. Please, let me be useful, for once.” Jay felt his eyes dry. He really did cry all the night, didn’t he?

Cliff gave him a surprised look. In his eyes confusion, irritation, then understanding. He took something from the cupboard. It was an orange scarf. He put it around his son’s neck.

“Take care of yourself, okay? Find the real potential and come back in one piece.”

Jay smiled and hugged him. And for the first time, it didn’t feel weird and foreign. Cliff was helping and worrying about him. He was part of his life.

“I’ll come back soon.”

“Please do it.”

***

As soon as he reached Hiroshi’s Labyrinth, his dragon disappeared. Jay fell on the ground, hitting his chin. His power was getting weaker and weaker. For what reason, he really didn’t know. The void? The imminent future? It didn’t matter. If the real potential was the key to get everything back, it really didn’t matter.

The forest was expanding in front of him, almost infinite. He felt microscopic at comparison. He knew the two Garmadons went through it together. Nothing much, just the prophesied green ninja and his father, the ex-evil lord and expert sensei.

Nothing freaking much. Ah, crap.

Positive thinking Jay. Positive thinking. It was too late to go back anyway. Hopefully, in a couple of hours, he was going to have enough energy to summon the dragon again. Hopefully.

He entered the forest. There wasn’t even a road, everything was covered in giant leaves and vines. The climate was almost tropical, it wasn’t good for his headache. His suit felt all sweaty and sticky. He closed his eyes. What was he thinking, Hiroshi’s Labyrinth wasn’t a cute little jungle! He had no idea where to go. Not even how big was actually the area and how much time was going to take. Maybe he wasn’t even in the right place and he was wasting time.

His little solo mission was heading to a good start.

He sighed, leaning against a trunk. Having a nindroid would had really came in handy. Did Zane even come back? Maybe he cooked an amazing dinner while Jay wasn’t there. Or maybe, at the bounty ruled the same solitude he left behind. To be honest, any ninja would have come in handy right now. No use thinking about it anyway.

He looked at the tree. Everything in that forest was huge. The branches covered most of the sky, only a few rays of sun filtered. The trunk was covered in streaks, long deep and vertical. Almost like wounds, naturally formed.

Except for a horizontal cut. A little one, clearly made with some kind of knife. It was extremely little, considering the radius of the trunk. Precise. Shorter than his finger. An eyebrow, basically.

With a… notch?

Jay widened his eyes. He looked around. It was a coincidence, right? He looked on another tree and almost chocked. Again, a cut extremely similar to his right eyebrow. Another tree, and then another.

He swallowed, covering his own eyebrow. How creepy was that?! He looked around. There wasn’t a human sound, only the wind and some little animals. Was he followed? By who, and why? Nobody outside he and his father new about the real potential, and there was no way a normal people would just get lost inside this place. He put his hand on one of the cuts. It didn’t seem old. And most importantly, all of them were pointing in the same direction. He felt cold. It looked too easy, like someone was helping him.

Somebody knew he was there. And they were… helping him?

He shook his head. Better than wondering aimlessly into a maze of doom.

He followed the now clear path, trying to ignore the discomfort inside. In her diary Lynn told him to come into this place without knowing he was her son. Right? There was no way she made those signs herself in the past, they looked made recently. Unless…

Jay laughed to himself. Yeah, right. He found a clue to the place of the real potential, and it was thanks to his long-lost mother? Now that seemed like a good idea for a movie. It wasn’t believable. He wasn’t going to believe that, at least. Because just the thought of it was so infuriating, it made him feel happy his power was weaker than usual.

No, stop, concentrate. The real potential.

After a while Jay found an oasis. A crystal waterfall in a green clearing. The shining drops of dew on the vegetation were like jewels. Colorful plants cornered the place, and a light veil of natural dust appeared under the last rays of sunshine. The blue ninja felt enchanted. It was probably the oasis Lloyd and his father found. Did he arrive so fast? The indication helped a lot. But did not help the feeling of uneasiness inside him.

He looked at the last tree, with big roots. The cut was pointing to the waterfall. Jay sighed. He didn’t like the idea, but there wasn’t much of a choice. He took off his shoes and rolled the sleeves of his pants over his knees. He put the scarf over his nose. He made a step in the water and immediately shivered. It was dead cold and the mud felt slithery. He went on, ignoring the headache coming full force, and reached the fall. He grinded his teeth and went over it. It was like getting rocks on his head. It didn’t last long. As soon as he was out, he hugged himself, blowing hot breath against the scarf.

Jay sighed. It was both frustrating and nostalgic. Like when they traveled through sea to the Island of Darkness. He had never found the time to successfully dry himself.

“I should’ve brought another pair of paAAAHH!!!” He jumped backwards, hitting the wall with his back. In front of him, there was a pair of blue underwear.

He put a hand on his chest. That was beyond creepy.

Around him there was a big cavern, the stalactites – or they were stalagmites? – were letting go little drops on the ground. All over there were little crystals stuck in the walls, white and opaque. Jay touched one of them, and it immediately turned blue.

Sounded like the right place.

He went on, ignoring the pants. His feet were cold, he forgot to bring the shoes. He ignored a little pain whenever he stepped on a pointy pebble. He has his arms clenched against his chest. Fortunately, there wasn’t much wind inside. His steps had their echo. While he was walking, the crystal reacted by turning blue. Many shining points were all around him, on the ground, on the top, on the walls. It felt oppressing. Like he was waited and didn’t even know.

Jay finally reached the end of his path. There was a wall, and what looked like five different doors. Large barely enough to let him in, surrounded by crystals. Each of them had a different color. Red, blue, orange, pink and black. They didn’t have doorknobs, maybe they needed to be pushed. Which one? There were five of them, like the five ninja. So blue? What about Nya? And what if it was deeper than that? Everything was going to fall apart if he chose the wrong one? Like in the movies? What did he need to make a decision? Why everything needed to be so complicated??

He swallowed and put a hand on the blue one. He gulped. The stone was clean and warm. Shining letters appeared on the surface. A voice pulsed inside his head, along with an image. A mighty red dragon coming out of the Fire Temple, with a red ninja and a young girl on it.

“Our father used to tell us stories about the dragons.”. He let go.

“Nya?” That was when they met the first time, when Flame was tamed. How was that even possible, and why?

Jay tried to push the surface. He got it wrong, they weren’t doors. Only walls in different colors, levigated but still part of the cavern. He wasn’t even sure what kind of material was that.

He touched another one. The red one, almost burning himself. In the vision he found himself looking down to a guy in full pajama, practicing moves in front of the mirror with a toothbrush.

“Oh, yeah? Well, take this!”. He would had laughed if he wasn’t that tense. He could recognize himself getting ready to jump over the new ninja of the monastery. That was indeed the first time he had ever heard the master of fire’s voice.

The pink wall, so cold, showing instead a warm encounter. “Pleasure to meet you all, fellow ninja apprentices.”. Zane.

The orange one, that left dust on his hand. “Who is he, sensei?”. Cole. Yeah, hopefully he was okay with his wound. He felt bad for not even worrying until now.

The black one, neat, simply neat. “It is I, Lloyd Garmadon! I demand all the candy in town, or else!”. Again, he would had loved to laugh.

The first sentences Jay heard from them all. Their beginning, how it all started. He shivered, taking a few steps behind. It couldn’t be just destiny. All of that was about him. And only the other ninja could had known about it. He took his head between in hands. It still hurt. He wanted to get out, it was getting more and more upsetting. But those weren’t doors.

Where to go? He couldn’t just go back in that maze!

Wait, maze? He… he was good with mazes. Like in the Tomb of the first Spinjitzu Master.

“To move forward, don’t look ahead to find the resting spot.” Easy to remember a line from a place he almost died in multiple times. “That time it was don’t look ahead, look below.” He looked down, the floor was made of stone, no way to get through. “So maybe… up!” He got so busy with the five walls he didn’t even notice the light from the top. It was like the chimney of a volcano, pretty high but he could clearly see the sky. An extremely blue sky, almost unbelievable.

Jay took a deep breath. His strength and concentration weren’t the best at the moment, but he needed to risk. He used airjitzu, using all the forces he had left. His head felt really bad. He grinded his teeth. The rise was pretty long. His flight was getting less vertical, he was trembling. He never used it for so long. It was hard. Too hard. But he was almost there. He swallowed, extending his arms in anticipation. He just needed something to grab and get out.

The sky looked incredibly clear and define. Almost unreal.

He bumped into it, grabbing only for a miracle a protruding rock from the left. He panted, without breath, without strength. Did he just hit the sky?! Looking closer, it looked extremely blue. Like some sort of ceiling. He tried to touch it. Like before, shining words appeared.

And in his head.

“Ahahah! Ciclon-do!”.

That happened just a couple of weeks ago. She couldn’t know, right? She couldn’t…!

Jay felt his hands letting go by themselves. He franticly grabbed the air, falling towards the ground. The coldness flew through his wet suits. His head was pulsing horribly. He screamed and closed his eyes, hoping, praying to have something left to use.

He needed to reach the top again.

The wind stopped. Jay feared opening his eyes. But he didn’t hit the ground, at least. Reluctantly, he opened his eyelids. He was looking at the rock walls of the chimney. He fell pretty much for half of it. And then he stopped. Like he was right now. He was floating in midair, like he was in zero gravity, but couldn’t move. Jay could see the air around him being a little opaque, like his globes and barriers. The void. He used the void again, without even realizing.

He swallowed. With the same thought that apparently summoned the power, he let the “air” bring him to the top again. He let go of the power as soon as he found something to put his feet on, in a climbing position. Like Cole taught all of them.

Grabbing a rock with one hand, he extended the other towards the blue ceiling. Again, he felt his own voice in his head. He pushed. And like a manhole, it finally revealed the sky.

Way grayer than he imagined.

Jay climbed the last tract, forcing his weak arms. As soon as he pushed the head outside, a breeze of wind made him sneeze. His hair and suit were still wet.

He sat down. He was on a little hill, he could hear the waterfall on the distance. Most of the labyrinth could be seen from there. It seemed even denser than he thought. He let his legs dangle on the hole where he came from. His bare feet were covered in dirt and were a little red. He rubbed his forearms, blowing in the scarf. It felt really cold.

Was it really Lynn? If not her, who? And why? It was just for disorienting him? He could go over the eyebrow, since everybody knew about it, and even the pants, since Edna pretty much shouted about it before the voyage towards the Island of Darkness. But the rest? Those lines could be known only by him. And the ciclon-do! He came out with that only recently!

Could it be that his mother was guiding him, and knew it was him? But she disappeared. What if she wasn’t? Where was she? Was she okay?

Why she wasn’t with him and his dad?

Too much confusion. He could hardly think. He didn’t even know he wanted to see the end of this. Seeing all his life smeared all over this maze by a pretty much unknown parent? Yeah, not today destiny. At least it was what he wanted to say.

But then he thought about Cole. About Kai, Zane, Nya and Lloyd. About Misako and Wu. About his father. He really couldn’t quit.

He got up. The grass felt better under his feet. The wind was still cold, so he hid his nose into the scarf and tried to ignore the shivering. The hill was pretty different from the rest of the forest. For a start, there was a path towards another part of the woods. All made of cobblestones. At least there weren’t creepy cuts on the trees no more. He followed the road. A few colorful birds flew by, almost hitting him in the head. Weird sounds where coming from everywhere. He felt followed. He stopped and turned around many times. Nobody could be seen. The place was quiet, and there was a prevalence of plant in a bluish tint.

Jay notices it. It was a little storehouse, under a big weeping willow with a beautiful green-blue canopy. It almost looked like hundreds of little leaves were stuck on the roof. The building was little, and pretty old-looking. There wasn’t even a door.

He hesitated. Was it really the right place?

Another rustle behind him. Jay turned around. Still nobody. He was this close to freaking out. He took a deep breath and entered the place.

Positive thinking. Positive thinking.

Inside it was ever shabbier. All the shelves were empty and covered in dust. Every corner had a spider web on it. The wood had holes pretty much everywhere. Only a little low table in the center looked brand new. Most importantly, it had a little blue cloth on it, with the symbol of the lightning. On the table there was a cube made of stone, kinda like a box.

Jay sat on his knees in front of the table, taking the box in his hands. It was as heavy as he imagined it was going to be. He looked at it on every side. Only one had some kind of moss on it. He traced it with his finger. The stripe change color and then disappeared. So, he needed to draw something? Write a word? Did he even have to know what was in the box?

He sighed. At least he could relax. All he could do was think. No more invasion of privacy. That what he thought. Before looking at the part of the blanket that was under the box. He froze. There was something embroidered on it.

‘The word that, at the junkyard, isn’t a word.’

He knew the answer. He knew it and it felt awful. His fingers were shaking. What was the point into all those hints? Was somebody trying to mess with his head? Was Lynn trying to make him understand he knew pretty much everything about him even though she abandoned him and his dad? It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.

He wrote the answer on the moss in a trembling line. For a second nothing happened.

Then, the box opened like a safe. Jay could feel his old friend anxiety burning in his stomach. He opened it slowly. He could see a little stick, a piece of rock and a photo faced down.

He took the stick first. It was retractile and made of metal, with a little sphere at the end like an antenna. Did he need to be a lightning rod? For now, more questions than answers. He took the rock. And it could float on its own, like gravity could affect it. He grabbed it and let go again. Same result. Pretty much fixed in the air.

He gasped. The Floating Ruins! Of course! Zero gravity, the original place of the Nunchaku of Lightning, the realm of lightning itself. Maybe that was his real destination. It would had made way more sense. But what to do there, then?

No idea. He had only one item left.

Jay could barely convince himself to grab the photo. He could tell, another slap of sadness he wasn’t able to handle. The eyebrow, the underwear, the first words, the ciclon-do, and now this box. Everything was too personal. Too much for a lost mother to know. For anyone to know. He needed to believe it was like this. That she couldn’t reach him and Cliff, for one reason of another.

Maybe she was joking. Or whoever was behind this was. Jay didn’t know, didn’t want to know.

But he had a mission. He finally took the photo out of the stone box. It was pretty thick, like a photo from a polaroid. Maybe even in black and white. He looked at the backward of the photo longer than needed. The forest was silent. Or maybe he just could hear nothing.

Jay closed his eyes. He turned the photo. His eyelids opened.

The slap felt brutal.

“… what does it mean?” He tightened the photo between his hands. “What does this even mean?? It can’t be it!! It doesn’t make any sense, why here, why now?? Why do I have to feel this empty every time?? Lynn…!!” He punched the box, his knuckles started to bleed. “You have no right to give me this!! You can’t take me for a fool!! I don’t care about this!! I don’t care about you!! Are you listening to this?!?!” He got out of the storehouse, his throat exploding. “Get out!! I know you’re here!! You have to be!! You need to be!! Please, I need answers!! Please!!” He leaned against the willow, slowly sliding down. “Please… mom, p-please.” The tears were painful. Like streams of lava over his cheeks, falling in drops on the ground.

He sobbed, feeling so empty and full at the same time. He looked at the photo another time. Violent hiccups were shaking all his body. He hugged the picture. He didn’t want to think about what that thing was making him feel. Because it was scary.

The fact that somehow, inside his heart, he was ready to forgive her.

***

It felt cold around his eyes for all the travel back. He wanted to stop crying, at least for avoid to look like a sad mess in front of the others. A break was needed before heading towards the Floating Ruins, mostly because he didn’t like the idea of falling asleep on a floating rock over the nothingness. Apart from the part that he had no idea where to start. He felt terrible. His headache was getting worse. He sneezed a couple of times into his father’s scarf.

Jay knew that it was the time to face the others. And it was demoralizing. But they deserved an explanation. Plus, he missed them.

The rock and the antenna were in his hand, while the photo was inside his gi, near Cliff’s handkerchief. It was like getting a sting into his heart. But it belonged there, and that alone was unusually comforting.

Jay landed for a miracle. His dragon was a ghost pretty much like Cole, only a blind determination was keeping it alive. He needed to do something with his powers fast, or he was going to be useless. A master of lightning without lightning.

He went inside, hoping to sneak inside his room, washing his face and preparing mentally to what was coming for him. But of course, there was another reason why he wasn’t the one with plans.

Destiny just loved to mess with his.

It looked like they camped there for quite a while, Kai even had a bag of chips. As soon as they saw him, they interrupted everything they were doing. The master of fire blocked his jaw from chewing, Lloyd put away his comic book, Zane interrupted his meditation, Nya looked up from her book and Cole stopped tormenting his bandages.

The master of earth was the one that immediately got on his feet, the biggest smile on his face.

“Jay! Finally, we were so worried…!” He stopped halfway. “What happened?”

The blue ninja was speechless. It looked like such a normal situation. It wasn’t the same house where he saw one of his brothers die. Everybody was looking at him with concern. And it felt like they cared. Like it had always been.

He put a hand on his chest and felt the photo underneath. More tears fell. His head hurt so much it made him feel pathetic. His vision was getting foggy.

“I-I didn’t mean to… I just went… I f-found out…” He sniffed. “I didn’t know what to do, I’m sorry! I needed to do something, so for helping me my dad studied my mother’s diaries, we found out about this “real potential” that could help us, so I went straight to the Hiroshi’s Labyrinth that was basically the location for just more clues, but I couldn’t give up since I can’t stand doing nothing anymore, like I can barely stand right now and…! I…!” He looked at his feet. “… legs.”

Cole blinked.

“Legs?”

“I can’t feel them… oh.” His limbs gave up on him.

The black ninja caught him in time.

“Whoa, easy there! Diaries? Hiroshi’s Labyrinth? You’re not making any sense right now!” He looked at him with concern. “And you don’t look so good either.” At least his eyes weren’t desperate anymore. Just worried. And a little happy. To see him?

Kai got closer and put a hand on his forehead. Warmer than usual.

“… not good, you have a fever. You should probably lay down.”

Jay grabbed Cole’s shoulder to maintain his balance and not fall down. He sighed, but immediately started to cough.

“I don’t want to… ugh… I slept already too much. I need to find the real potential, I have to go to the Floating Ruins! It’s too important, I’ll just… take a little break and then go…” He tried to walk alone for a few steps. “I don’t want to wait, I don’t want to just let things happen before me! I don’t wanna be useless anymore!” His head stung. He felt like crying and screaming at the same time.

Nya took his hand. It was shaking.

“Jay, you’re not useless. You’re here.” She smiled with lucid eyes. “That’s enough for now.”

The master of lightning looked at her in disbelief. Then the world spin, and the headache suddenly got worse. He lost the hand of the master of water. He closed his eyes and somebody grabbed him from behind. He felt tired, hurt, confused.

But hearing five voices calling his name made him feel welcomed.

He was home.

***

“Here, it will make you feel better.” Wu smiled at him, handing a steaming mug.

Jay sat up in his bed and took it. It smelled like peach, the vapor immediately made him breath better. He took a sip. It tasted really sweet, with just a bit of lemon to balance. It was hot, but he drank half of it almost in one go. He sighed contently.

“Thank you, sensei.”

The master nodded, then looked at the others in the room.

“Take care of him, I need to go help Misako. We think we’re close to find out about the meanings of the other symbols on the scrolls. Let us rest for today.” He glared severely at Kai. “All of us.” Then he left the room.

The red ninja sighed loudly. He was sitting on the ground, next to the green ninja.

“He’s still mad, isn’t he?”

Lloyd shrugged.

“You did mess up, dude. Sorry, but it’s only fair.”

The master of fire pouted, but still nodded.

The blue ninja kept drinking. It was really good, and after a couple of hours of sleeping, he was getting better already. Was it because the others were talking again? The tension was almost gone, and most of them looked way relaxer than before.

Cole gave him a little smile. He was sitting at the end of his bed, trying to occupy less space as possible.

“How’re you doing, Zaptrap?”

“I’m fine now. But…” Jay couldn’t take it anymore. “Kai, what happened yesterday, exactly?” He wasn’t even sure he wanted and answer. But he needed, and sure thing deserved one.

The red ninja widened his eyes. He exchanged a look with the master of energy, who nodded with a serious expression on his face. Kai looked at the ground for a moment. He seemed fine, for someone that looked at death in the eyes just a day ago.

“Since… I don’t know, defeating the Preeminent? Since then, I started to have these feelings. Like dreams without pictures, just voices, sounds, of sometimes sensations. Good, bad… terribly bad. It was happening so often I decided…” Lloyd gave him a look. “Alright, Lloyd decided to ask sensei for help, since he’s the vision expert.”

The green ninja sighed.

“I heard him whining in his sleep, it seemed serious.”

“According to Wu, I can connect with people, and see through their eyes. I mean, I can when I dive deep enough in my subconscious. But I don’t know who I’m connected with, and why them in particular. And if I dive too deep… the result is the one you saw yesterday.” Kai swallowed hard, putting a hand on his chest.

The blue ninja clenched his fists around the blanket. He took a long breath.

“You won’t do that again, will you?”

Kai gave him a comforting smile.

“No way. I might be reckless, but I’m not stupid. Besides, sensei is not letting me dive again, so I won’t risk a thing right now. I’ll just wait for a while… but thanks.” He looked at him straight in the eyes. “I freaked out yesterday, so I haven’t get the chance to tell you. You saved my life. You have no idea how much this means to me. Really, thank you.”

Jay gulped.

“Ah, no, it’s not a big deal!”

“It is, and it’s the same for me.” Zane was seated on a chair and cracked a smile as well. “You respected my privacy and came exactly when I needed. You have a strength I sincerely didn’t know you had. I’m happy I was proved wrong. Thank you, a lot, Jay.” He was so calm today. Finally, the patience and kindness they all loved so much.

He came back. Exactly how he promised.

Cole touched his leg to grab his attention.

“Ditto for me.” He put a hand on his bandages. “I knew I could count on you.”

Jay inhaled softly. He didn’t even know why he was feeling so happy. Saving his brothers, always having each other’s backs. They managed countless of time. And yet, after feeling so alone, it was like breathing again. The tension that lived before was pretty much gone. Finally, he could recognize his home.

Nya entered in that moment with a tray full of sandwiches. After making sure to give the first one to the recovered, she shared the lasts and then took a seat on another chair.

She looked at the nindroid.

“Zane, you promised.”

The master of ice gave a worried look at Jay.

“I’m not sure this is the right moment. Maybe we should wait until Jay will feel better.”

The blue ninja furrowed his eyebrow.

“For what?”

“Zane wants to tell us about what happened in these days, but he wanted all of us to hear it.” Kai shrugged. “You weren’t here yesterday, so we waited. Apparently, it’s heavy stuff, so I doubt he will like to repeat it.” He was trying to be cool with it, but his eyes were fixed on the robot. Like he waited for a long time in anxiousness.

Jay took a bite of his sandwich. Chicken, salad and mayonnaise. He finished it almost without realizing. Nya immediately handed him another one.

“I’m fine, Zane. I can listen, if you wanna talk.” He tried to smile with confidence.

The master of ice waited for a second. His expression went stiff for a second, then softened right after. His eyes went lost.

“You guys remember when we found my father’s house?” Cole, Jay and Kai nodded. “I’ve never paid much attention before, but it is an odd choice for a place to grow up a kid. Even a robot kid. A remote bunker reinforced and secret, with a giant defensive robot as a guardian? It came to my mind that these are not reassuring hints. So I tried to do some researches. And came across these… weird letters.” He opened his chest and took out some papers.

They were all yellow and pretty old-looking. The calligraphy was neat and elegant in all of them, with only a couple of spots in black ink over it.

They all took one of them. Jay read his out loud.

“ _If you find my calligraphy a little off, it might because of a certain master of earth I know. Toch is strong, powerful, but he really needs to stop jumping into situations only because his “guts” tell him to. During the training at the monastery he found perfectly fine knocking me down in order to prevent me to use my powers. He landed on my wrist. But I can’t get mad. He’s a really good person. If I’m hurt a little, he’s drowning in the feeling of guilty. Anyway, I was thinking about something. I won’t say anything for now, but it involves you, so hopefully you will be willing to listen._ ” He blinked a couple of time. An old elemental master?

He looked at Cole, who just shrugged.

“I don’t know anybody called Toch.”

“It should be one of you ancestors, Cole.” Zane pointed at the letters. “I have rights to believe my father was getting these letters from the last master of ice. I can’t be certain, of course, but it’s a strong possibility.”

Jay nodded.

“I remember that name from Lynn’s journals too. With… oh…” He almost forgot about that. “Zane, this might sound a little weird, but where you operational during the First Serpentine War?”

The master of ice gave him a confused look.

“Not that I remember. Even if I was, I never left the bunker. Why?”

“I… I need to read something again later. For now.” The blue ninja gestured towards Cole, who started reading the letter in his hands.

“ _I don’t like him. And I know, I shouldn’t judge someone by the cover, I’m aware. I really feel like a terrible and ignorant person. But can’t help thinking about it, all the time. Inside the son of the first Spinjitzu Master there’s the venom of the Great Devourer, the legendary demonic snake that almost destroyed this realm. Garmadon is not a bad man. But occasionally his eyes turn red, and he glares evilly at his younger brother. I don’t think he does that on purpose. But just for the sake of me and my mates, I’ll keep the guard high. You never now. Remember the_ heart of ice _I talked you about? I’m making progress. I’m sure you’ll love my idea. I’ll send you a letter with all the details_.”

Lloyd saddened his gaze.

“Dad always had a hard time…” Kai put a hand on his shoulder.

Jay hummed thoughtfully.

“Sensei said to me something about it, after confessing he knew my mother.”

“So… after doing a Wu?”

“After doing a Wu.” Everybody snickered, even the green ninja.

The master of fire cleared his voice.

“ _I’m sincere when I say that I’m not a very observant person. The other masters know it and often point that out. I tend to not listen to them, even if I know it’s a mistake. Let’s just say things go over my head, I don’t do it on purpose. I still can compensate my lack of witty skills with strategy and knowledge, but the world around me is still pretty much a mystery to me. That’s probably why I didn’t get the signals. And it’s unbelievable, because… they are made for each other. And apparently there were pretty big hints from both parts, according to the others. I can tell why. Seeing Maya and Ray holding hands is one of the rightest things I’ve ever witnessed in this world. They’re going to be together for long, if not forever. Almost done with the heart. I just need to deliver it_ … Nya, it’s mom and dad.” He smiled fondly, looking at his sister.

The master of water reciprocated, sighing happily.

“ _At least we know they were happy together. If only we also knew where…” Her smile fell, and she looked at the ground. “One of many mysteries, I guess.” She took the letter from Lloyd and started to read. ““It’s not fair. I hate seeing her so sad, so bitter. It’s not like it should be. She is energy, enthusiasm, a contagious joy. It’s absurd she’s losing all this, now that the Serpentine War is over. Toch tried to talk to her. She seemed more serene. It’s better than nothing. His husband better be treating her with respect. Lynn deserves it._ ” She furrowed her forehead. “Didn’t Mr. Gordon said that he never got to marry her?”

Jay nodded, as confused. He lied? But then why did he still have the ring? It wasn’t even such a big change in the story if they were indeed married. Why changing it?

“Is that it?”

Zane shook his head. He didn’t have the letter in his hands, but of course he was a nindroid. He just closed his eyes.

“ _I did my part, now it’s up to you, like we promised each other. I hope the heart of ice will do you good. I know you feel guilty about your creations. Protecting those who cannot protect themselves, that must feel like a terrible lie right now. Hopefully you’ll redeem yourself. It’s what I want for you. And when the time will come, please contact me again. I’m far from being erased from your life. Please, do not stop thinking about me, and put your heart into your work as well. I salute and thank you, for being one of the best men I’ve ever met. See you soon_.” He sighed. “I had a hard time trying to decipher what they are saying. The heart. The guilt. And most importantly… that my father, somehow, gave me a purpose he didn’t really believe in.” He was tracing the angles of his sandwich. He never stopped eating, even after realizing he really didn’t need it. Today just didn’t seem like always.

Jay softened his gaze. Now it was clear, why he seemed so off lately.

“I’m sure that’s not it, Zane.”

“I know. I acted recklessly.” The master of ice smiled. “I tried to find the answers in his works, the juggernaut, the gizmo, Echo Zane.”

Kai furrowed an eyebrow.

“Echo Zane?”

“A friend of mine.” The titanium ninja winked at the blue one.

Jay couldn’t wait to see that sweet version of his robotic brother again.

“Did you find anything?”

“Not entirely. I discovered that all the robots he built have a memory switch. Even those without a conscience, and I still don’t know why. Since Pixal was staying with Borg to build a new body, I reached the place to ask her to find information about it… but I got attacked by the chimeras. That is the part you know about.” He looked at Jay. “Then, I realized something… you said my 'heart' was cold, right?”

Jay blinked.

“It’s just a common verb, you know.”

“I am aware.” For once. “But it made me finally get the meaning of the heart. You see, there are more letters than these, but I brought the most meaningful ones, with the master of elements in it. In the others, this stranger used the term heart of ice. This is also why I think the emissary is the last master of ice. When Pixal scanned me the first time, she noticed that my heart is a unique piece. What if the previous master of ice give it to my father?”

Nya hummed, looking at the others.

“That would explain a lot. I mean, we never questioned before, but we all pretty much have powers because of our ancestors. How did you get yours?”

Cole inclined his head.

“What you’re saying is… this master of ice gave up his power to you? Is it possible?”

Zane gave him an uncertain smile.

“It’s a theory.”

“We know power can be transferred from one container to another one.” Jay looked at his hands. “This is how I created a new heart for Zane. That is possible, so why not the power be willingly transferred in new a holder?” He felt a shiver, and he knew the master of ice felt it too. It was weird, thinking that he was alive for a power neither of them knew much about.

Kai put his hands on his head, clearly confused.

“Wait a second, I’m getting lost. And my headache is coming back, but that’s another thing. The reason why you are an elemental master as well is because this mysterious guy gave your father his powers to create a robot to be their successor?”

“… theoretically.”

Silence. And the blue ninja could blame no one.

After a while Zane cleared his voice to grab the attention.

“The only thing I know is that, my power should be the heart. There are still things I do not understand, and I can’t tell who was the master of ice for my father. But if he used the heart of ice to make something to redeem himself, to get something good for this world, then I’m sure he didn’t regret creating me. I’m sorry to keep all of this from you, I really am.”

Nya smiled near him, putting a hand on his.

“We’re just happy you finally decided to talk. Between yesterday and today, I was getting really anxious about it! And not only that, since Kai started his feeling things phase, sensei went all weird too!” She looked down for a second. “Now that I’m in the team, I don’t wanna be left behind like before. When I told Wu about it, he said I still have a long way as he always says, and then concluded that I need something more to become a real ninja. I feel like I achieved a lot lately, but he looks like not wanting to acknowledge it! Maybe he’s got his methods, like always? Because then I’d feel a little used, you know what I mean?”

Kai raised an eyebrow.

“Like using the 'finish before I drink my tea' method to train pupils fast?”

Zane giggled a little.

“Or putting on a question about peace just for adding more hours to our practice?”

“Or, of course, saying there’s a stranger in the monastery and we need to find him, only to make us meet a new member of the team and be his final test?” Cole snickered.

Lloyd raised his hand, laughing as well.

“Maybe like leaving for the day and let the others find me a place to train?”

Jay gestured like he was ending a theater show.

“Or the old classic ‘I’ll leave for a very long time without explanation to meet someone who can help, Aka the evil lord himself, while you deal on your own with your inner struggle and find your true potential’! Trust me, girl, you had it bad as much as us. Sure, Wu has some debatable methods, but we wouldn’t be here without him. We wouldn’t be us.” It felt like such a magic. Us. Like a world full or colors, thrill and determination. His world.

Nya gaped for a second.

“I guess I got frustrated for nothing, then.”

“Are you kidding? Wu is frustrating!” Kai huffed in annoyance. “He’s our master and all, but as he said it himself, there’s nothing more he had to teach us. From now on, it’s up to us. But I still think he’s not treating us like equals. He wants to protect us and continues keeping secrets. I understand, but it doesn’t feel good.” He crossed his arms on his chest.

Jay could only agree. Especially after knowing about his mother, he realized that the old master knew more than how much he was willing to admit. He was further from them than it looked.

“Hopefully he’ll come around.” Now the attention was on him. “… what?”

Cole gave him a sympathetic smile.

“You know already about me and my dad. Kai shared his problem, as long as Zane and Nya. Lloyd is the only one who acted like the good kid he is, he deserves a high five.” Kai immediately acted, sharing the moment with the green ninja who laughed. “You’re the only one left. And don’t try to hide, you love to talk. So do it.”

He was right, for once.

Jay ate the third sandwich. He finished the tea, feeling so much better, in the stomach and in his lungs. But the chest felt weird. Both heavy and light.

“Well… you already know about my situation, the adopted thing. Me and Cliff had time to bond, at least a little. And he told me that my mother used to keep all these diaries with her studies on her element. The one he gave to me talked about the real potential.”

Kai raised an eyebrow.

“Real potential? Seriously?”

“It’s how she named it. It’s supposed to be the disconnection from the golden power, to leave us the full control over the element, just like our ancestor.”

Zane got closer with his chair, clearly interested.

“So the problem that occurred when Morro possessed Lloyd would not happen?”

“Basically, yes. The elemental powers have been given to their holders by the first Spinjitzu Masters. Since Lloyd used to be the golden ninja, the process it’s the same. We have a connection to him, but in that way, we won’t be able to express all of our power. The real potential should help me use the lightning without depending from Lloyd, exactly how it helped the elemental masters before us disconnecting from the first Spinjitzu Master.”

The green ninja nodded thoughtfully.

“Makes sense. So how do you achieve it?”

“Well, the clues brought me to Hiroshi’s Labyrinth…” Jay felt a lump in his throat. All those hints, so personal, blasted all over the maze. And that photo at the end.

He closed his eyes for a moment. It wasn’t like him interrupting in the middle of a sentence. His lip was trembling. Saying everything out loud meant acknowledging the situation. He wasn’t sure it was what he wanted.

Jay opened his eyelids. Everybody was looking at him, extremely concerned.

Nya tried to smile at him.

“If you don’t feel like, you don’t have to force yourself.”

“No, it’s okay, it’s just…” Jay took a deep breath. “I found… I have been helped, somehow. There were cuts on every tree that pointed to the oasis Lloyd and Garmadon found when they got lost during the attack of the nindroids. Under the waterfall there was a secret cave and…”

“Wait.” The green ninja gave him a confused look. “How do you know?”

“What?”

“How do you know about the oasis? I’ve never talked about it with you guys. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about me and dad hiding in Hiroshi’s Labyrinth in the first place!”

“He’s right.” Zane gave him a quizzical look. “I would have it registered in my memory.”

Jay blinked. How? He assumed Lloyd talked about it at some point, he never questioned how it came into his mind. Thinking about it, he had no idea. The memory was just there, somehow. With all the confusion in his head, it was the least of his problem, though.

“I don’t know, I really don’t. I guess I heard you or sensei G once in the past?”

“It could be. Sorry, continue.”

“Well, the thing is, the cuts on the trees… were pretty much my eyebrow.” The blue ninja pointed at it. “And if this wasn’t enough, as soon as I got soaked under the waterfall, there was a pair of pants in the cave. Since ‘I should’ve brought an extra pair of underwear’” He really wanted to laugh, but he shivered. “When I got in, I found these, like, magical tablets in different colors. And when I touched them, in my head there were first words I heard from all of you.”

Kai blinked.

“Well, that’s not the weirdest I’ve heard, but…”

“Just another day in Ninjago!” Cole shrugged, trying to brighten the mood.

Jay was grateful about that. He himself couldn’t think of a single joke. He wasn’t even scared, it was just too strong, the feeling of uneasiness.

“While trying to get out of that place I found another tablet… this one was the exact sentence I said about the ciclon-do the first time. Then I got out and found a little storehouse with a box made of stone inside. I had to write something on it to open it, it was a riddle… ‘The word that, at the junkyard, isn’t a word.’” He bit his lip in anticipation.

The other ninja shared a confused look.

But it took only a couple of moments for the green ninja to gulp.

“The junkyard is where you come from… the word… it’s fear, isn’t it?” The master of lightning nodded slowly. “The Starfarer saga. No, it’s because it’s your favorite comic book!”

Jay smiled sadly.

“We’re synchronized, I knew it. The thing opened, I found a little metal stick, a floating rock and a… photo. I’m not sure about the stick, it looks like a little lightning rod, but that’s all I concluded. On the contrary, I’m sure the rock came from the Floating Ruins. I think it’s the true destination for finding the real potential.” He stopped. He really didn’t want to go on. He put his knees under his chin, hugging his legs.

Cole looked silently at the others. They all shrugged, not sure what to do.

The master of earth got a little closer, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re not alone in this.”

Jay was always amazed by him. Somehow, he always knew what to say to him.

He swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. He got back in a sitting position, but with his legs on one side of the bed, facing everyone. With a shaking hand he took the photo out of his gi and give it to Nya, who was pretty much at the center of the circle.

“This is the photo. I don’t know why it was there… and it’s making me feel terrible and amazing at the same time.” Like always, after talking, he felt way better than before.

The master of water widened his eyes, as much as all the others, silently looking at the photo. It was understandable. For once, they could all have a clear idea of who was the last master of lightning, and Jay’s biological mother. Blonde shining hair, a motherly smile and eyes sharp and intelligent. Only pointed to the little blue bundle in her arms. The blue ninja realized as well it was the first time, after talking to his real father, that he could picture a real person in his head.

It was both disturbing and reassuring.

Zane gave a quick scan to the photo.

“Approximately made nineteen years ago. You were pretty much one, Jay.”

The master of lightning took another breath. It was really another thing, talking with his brothers. They were genuinely curious, and he wanted nothing but know the truth. He could talk freely.

“So she stayed with me for an year?”

“It’s a possibility. But it’s just when the photo has been made.”

Kai got closer to the picture, scratching his chin.

“Say, isn’t the background familiar to any of you? I bet I saw this place somewhere.”

Lloyd stared at it intensely.

“… not really, no.”

“Me neither." Nya shook her head.

Cole nodded instead.

“You’re right, it is familiar. Maybe it’s from an old adventure?”

Jay reluctantly take another look. It was hard to get his eyes of Lynn, or himself, but eventually he stared at the place around. It was a nice-looking place; the wallpaper was covered with stamps of clouds. There wasn’t much around but pillows with prestigious golden drawings and a few stuffed animals. It had a calming childish vibe.

It was familiar. But that memory was vague, like it came with anxiety.

“Now that think about it, it kinda rings a bell. Zane?”

The master of ice looked really concentrated.

“I am currently experiencing the so called feeling of déjà-vu as well, but I cannot recall the exact memory in my brain. Perhaps I have a malfunction?”

“I’m sure you’re fine, it feels like it was from a pretty hardcore moment. So, what do you guys think? About all these messages about me?”

Nya was fidgeting with her fingers. She gave him an unsure look.

“I don’t wanna raise your hopes…”

“If you’re gonna say what I’m thinking, then don’t worry. I wouldn’t be happy about it.” Jay clenched his fists.

Zane gave him a soft look.

“I understand your reluctance, but you shouldn’t push away the idea in such a manner.”

“May I remind you that that woman took me away from my father just because of an argument? And then abandon me like I was nothing to her??” The blue ninja laughed loudly. “Sure! I should love her unconditionally because she gave birth to me! That’s how it works! Sorry to ruin this for her, but knowing that she might be nearby trying to show that she pretty much stalked me during these years does not make her gain levels in affection!” He could feel the tears again. It made him angry. He did nothing but crying in these days.

The master of earth gave him an unimpressed look.

“Okay, now you’re doing that thing.”

“What thing?”

“When you feel like apparently all the misfortune of humanity decided to drop by your house! I get you’re upset, but as Zane said, we don’t know her story. You should at least give her the benefit of the doubt! Like Misako with Lloyd, you know.”

Jay looked at him mouth-opened.

“Are you saying that me being dropped in a junkyard like trash is the same as a mother giving up on her son for the sake of the world and his own family??”

“Kinda, yeah. She had a reason. So might have Lynn.”

“You don’t know that!!” He screamed in frustration. “She could have done it because she didn’t want me! Maybe I reminded her too much of her ‘choleric’ husband! Maybe I was a mistake and should’ve never been born!! What do you know??”

Cole gave him a look. It felt like he punched him in the stomach.

“You’re right! I don’t!” He scooched away from him. “Because I don’t have my mother anymore! Thanks for reminding me! Thanks for reminding everyone, you ungrateful jerk!”

The slap of sadness. So hard, he was glad he wasn’t standing.

The master of lightning put a hand on his mouth. Like always, he wasn’t even thinking about the others’ feelings. Kai and Nya’s mother was lost as well. Cole’s was gone. Zane didn’t even have one! How could he complain about not wanting his mother around, when all his friends probably would had done everything to have theirs?

They stayed in silence, for a while.

Then, with a scowl in his face, the master of ice looked at the earth one.

“Cole.”

The black ninja gulped. Like he woke up in that moment. He slowly turned his head on Jay, widening his eyes. He scratched the back of his head.

“Gosh, I’m such an idiot. Sorry, Jay.”

Jay shook his head.

“You’re right.”

“No I’m not! What the heck, for once you agree with me and it’s when I’m wrong?”

“But… maybe I should wait for her.”

Nya smiled kindly.

“You can think with your own head. For me, a mother is a mother when her child decides she is. Even if I don’t remember much of mine, I decided to trust her. And trust the memories my brother has of her.” The red ninja gave her a soft look. “Doesn’t mean all of us should.”

“Indeed.” Zane nodded. “I do not possess a figure like that, but I don’t miss it. Because I had my father, and now I have all of you. That’s enough for me.”

“I forgave mom, but only after knowing her reasons. It’s a hard decision.” Lloyd sighed.

Cole sat again closer to him, putting a hand on his back. He could touch him without a problem, his concentration as a ghost got incredibly higher.

“I loved my mother, and I know she loved me, she showed me many times. This is why it hurt me so much when she passed. She had a really important part in my life, and when she left, I had a hard time baring the void.” He looked at him in the eyes. “But I understand. You had a different experience. Sorry I snapped.”

Jay shook his head and opened his mouth for talking. Nothing came out. He tried again. The tears came without a warning. The lump in his throat was unbearable.

“It’s… i-it’s not that I hate her. It’s not t-that I don’t want her. It’s the opposite. I want to know. I want her to find me and explain to me everything… in that picture.” His voice was shaking terribly. "She seems so in love with me. Like I mean the world to her. And yet, she’s gone. I can’t accept it. I want to give her a chance. So much. And it scares me. She did nothing to deserve a place in my heart! Then why?” He sobbed weakly, since he spent most of his tears on his dragon, during all the travel back to the bounty. But now it was a nice venting cry. With his friends all around him, giving him all their support without having to say a word.

Cole squeezed his shoulder. His strength was always heart-warming.

“You’ll clear up these feelings. Give it time.”

Jay took a long breath and nodded, smiling. Now, he felt like he gave up everything that was oppressing his heart.

Kai suddenly cleared his voice. He was the one with the photo now, and he was looking at it like he found out the reality of the world.

“Not for breaking the tension, or maybe just a little bit… has anybody noticed how cute is Jay in this picture?”

What?

Nya squeaked with enthusiasm.

“I know, right? I didn’t want to sound out of place, but look at him!” She giggled, the softest one Jay had ever heard from her.

And it was for him baby version. Interesting.

No, hey, wait.

“T-that’s not the point!”

“It is true, but I must agree. You do look extremely cute.” Zane smiled at him.

At that point Jay got on his feet, trying to get the photo from Kai. But he was still recovered, while the master of fire looked like he had all the energy of the world. They ran in circle.

“Give it back!”

“Don’t be shy, come on! You’re all chubby and freckled, you’re straight up adorable!”

“I’m not!! Give it back, Kai!!” Jay almost launched himself, only to be dodged. He fell on Zane’s titanium legs. His stomach got the hit, but fortunately the sandwich did not back up.

Lloyd got up as well and stole the picture, giving it to Cole.

“Who’s being the baby now?”

The red ninja stuck out his tongue.

“You missed this, admit it!”

The green ninja rolled his eyes. But did not deny it.

Jay huffed, getting on his feet. At least he didn’t feel like a dishrag anymore. It was one of the most normal things done lately. He searched for the photo. The black ninja was staring at it with intensity. Like he was going to burn it with the eyes.

Who was the master of fire, again?

“Cole?”

“Uh?” The master of earth gulped violently. “What? What is it?”

“The photo. You’re gonna give it back or…?”

“Oh, right, yeah.” He extended to him, a little embarrassed. “So this is Lynn, the previous master of lightning. Gotta say, she’s really pretty.”

Jay gave him a bashful look.

“Don’t hit on my mother I barely know!” Was he blushing green again? That ghostly blush?

“That’s not what I meant, Motor Mouth.” Cole looked at Zane. “So, from what you said, the destination should be the Floating Ruins. And we had that visit to the Cave of Despair in the ghost season. Sounds like lately we’re going in familiar places!”

Kai raised an eyebrow.

“Season?”

“Wasn’t it almost spring when we defeated the Preeminent?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Don’t we have other info?” Zane looked concerned. “The Floating Ruins include a pretty wide area, it will take not a small amount of time to sweep it all.”

The blue ninja hummed softly.

“Maybe you can do some researches on the rock?” He gave it to the master of ice.

The robot nodded.

“I’ll do my best.”

“I guess it’s settled! We’re going to the Floating Ruins! Tomorrow, maybe?”

Jay smiled.

“So you guys are coming with me?”

Cole winked at him.

“Did you doubt it?”

“No, I just… family business… my burden… you know what, these lame excuses will just make us argue again.” The blue ninja grinned. “I’m just happy you are all here. No more secrets, no more worries. Everything it’s how it should be. I’m…” He sniffed, but quickly regained his happiness. “I’m glad you are all safe.” His heart was shining. He was where he was supposed to. Master of lightning. Blue ninja.

A single member of an amazing family.

The master of fire gave him a surprised look.

“… that is the most evident call for a group hug I’ve ever witnessed! All aboard!” He hugged him. He was warm and caring. Just a little stiff, like he was a little embarrassed.

Eventually everybody joined in. Soft like Lloyd, rigid but loving like Zane, sweet like Nya. And Cole was basically squeezing them all together. It would had been really lame crying other this. Jay decided he cried enough. His heart was happy. Everybody was happy.

There was really no need to cry.

When they let go, Zane sat down and examined the floating rock.

“I may have an idea. If it works, we might have a lead for tomorrow’s journey.”

Lloyd smiled enthusiastically.

“I knew you were going to come up with something!” He got closer to the nindroid, with Kai and Nya other his shoulders.

Jay was going to join them, but he felt grabbed by the wrist.

“What is it, Boulder Brain?” He turned to him and stopped smiling.

Cole was dead serious.

“I’m really sorry.”

The blue ninja blinked.

“You already apologized, didn’t you? Don’t feel so bad every time, relax. You should let go, sometimes.” He really meant it. He didn’t want him to feel bad forever, like he always did.

The master of earth shook his head.

“Not for the snap, I… I wasn’t there when you needed. You suffered so much because I lost time trying to find a solution for my father on my own, and I didn’t even conclude a thing!” His grab got tighter. “All I did was blame me and my problems, ignoring yours. I should’ve been a better friend.” His expression was tired, and sad. But all he was looking at was the blue ninja. Did he worry that much about him? And still was?

Jay grinned at him.

“You came back. You always did, and always will. I count on it, okay?” He extended his fist towards him.

Cole looked uncertain. He looked straight in his eyes. For some reason he seemed surprised, like it was the first time he ever saw them. A sweet smiled finally moved on his face.

“You got it.” He bumped his fist against his.

And with that, all fears were lost.

***

If it wasn’t past midnight, Jay was pretty sure it wasn’t much earlier. Even so, the knock on his door was pretty insistent. He grunted, because for once he was sleeping extremely well. And the weird fact was, he dreamt about Lynn all the time. Without a voice, exactly like in the photo. And he felt like his baby version, simply ecstatic to see her. Little arms extended towards her, a giggling mess and a light always in front of him. She was simply his mother.

His everything, in that little arc of his life.

And she was there. With that sweet, motherly smile directed to him and only him. It should had felt weird. Especially since he was still angry at her. But in a dream everything was messed up, so he didn’t question it.

He went to the door. Lloyd gave him a timid salute.

“Sorry to wake you up. I just got the feeling we didn’t talk much lately.”

It was kinda true, but he didn’t talk to many of them. And for once the green ninja wasn’t even tormented by existential crisis or evil villains, so it wouldn’t had been fair pulling him in. It was like a little vacation, for his poor little mind.

Jay shrugged, hiding a yawn.

“It’s okay. You wanted something in particular?”

“Just checking on you, are you okay?”

He smiled. He missed that caring side.

“Better than before. It would be easier if my mysterious lost mother didn’t send me creepy messages.” He noticed the bangs under the other’s eyes. “Looks like you didn’t relax either.” Why did he have to go through hard times even now?

The green ninja put a hand on his forehead. He sighed.

“Remember when I managed to get free from Morro’s possession a couple of times, at least temporarily?” Jay nodded seriously. “It was always after hearing Kai’s voice. I don’t know why, maybe it gave me strength, or maybe I just wanted to free myself that badly.” Lloyd smiled. “But it was inspiring. He cheered me up, saying I was stronger than Morro and I needed to fight. It was like I never really left, I was still by your side.” His lip started to tremble. “Kai gave me courage. So… when I thought I lost him, I…”

The master of lightning gulped. He hugged him. Unlike himself, Lloyd didn’t cry. He just let himself be embraced. That kid was too strong.

“Man, it scared me a lot too.”

“But you saved him. Thanks again.” The green ninja let go, a little embarrassed. “Here I am, trying to cheer you up. It’s really not my specialty. The thing is… you can live, with a mother that missed most of your life. They have reasons, and you love them too much to let the hate get the better on you.” He gave him a pat. “I know how you feel. I really do. I know you’re still confused, so if you’ll ever need to talk, I’m always free.” He was tired, but he still had energy to give.

The blue ninja was amazed by him every time.

“Got it, thanks. Goodnight, Lloyd.”

“Goodnight, Jay.”

“Oh, Lloyd!” Nya appeared in that moment. “Am I interrupting?”

The green ninja shook his head, saluting the master of lightning.

“I was leaving, no worries. See you two tomorrow.”

As soon as he disappeared behind the corner, the master of water stared intensely at Jay. She seemed worried, her foot kept tapping on the floor.

The blue ninja pointed at his room.

“Wanna come in?”

“Thanks.”

They sat on the bed. Nya was still stalling. She was scratching her elbow, her eyes were lucid and concerned. She seemed like her usual self, controlled and mature, but she still had something in her mind, it was clear.

At least to someone like Jay, who spent hours admiring her in the past.

“Something’s wrong?”

The master of water hesitated, then closed her eyes.

“… I know a person… that hurt another one. They were together, you know, they were a nice couple and everything. But for a dumb reason they broke up.” Her cheeks got redder. “He was great, really. The kind of guy you would never want to lose, not even for a mistake. But she was confused. Inexpert… maybe a little immature. She feared having her life decided already was gonna trap her, and she couldn’t bare it. With that, she didn’t realize how much she had lost. And she’s sorry.”

Jay kept the laughter for himself. It was adorable. And weird, seeing Nya finding a subtitle way to face a problem, instead of taking it with all her amazingness.

Weird, but also interesting.

“The girl said sorry, didn’t she?”

“She did… but she’s still afraid the boy is mad at her. He keeps telling it doesn’t matter, that he was the one in the wrong, that it needed to go like this. But she can’t accept that. Because she betrayed him, and she can’t go on if she doesn’t hear him say clearly that she’s forgiven. If he wants, of course.” Her hands were trembling, yet her voice was strong.

The blue ninja looked at her in disbelief. Wasn’t he the one always worried to mess up things? It made him feel less nervous. He cared about her. She didn’t deserve to feel bad.

“The boy forgave the girl.”

The master of water smiled.

“Really?”

“Really. But only if the girl will forgive him as well, for being so green of jealousy to be mistaken for a certain ninja they both know well.”

Nya giggled. There it was, the smile that always gave him goosebumps in the past. Now, they both grew up. They were more mature, and less naïve.

“The girl forgave the boy.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry you went through all that on you own. I always gave you for granted, thinking you were just a joker that never takes things seriously.”

Jay made a sound like he’s been hit, laughing a little.

“Brutal!” Not like it was the first time he had been told that.

Probably wasn’t going to be the last either.

“But I was wrong. You are one of the most sensible people I’ve ever met. You’re sweet, and even if you keep making jokes all the time, it doesn’t mean you don’t have the strength to help us all. You are… you. Really.”

The master of lightning blushed a little.

“Ahah, don’t let me stop you, you can’t keep going if you want!”

“Am I embarrassing you?”

“Not at all, it’s just that this is the kind of thing my parents would say.” He bit his tongue. “I mean, the Walkers. You know how they acted… how they act… I miss them. I tried to convince myself they are not my real parents, but my heart doesn’t agree. And maybe it’s right.” He smiled softly. “As soon as we’ll resolve the situation, I wanna talk to them again.” They loved him unconditionally even if they weren’t blood related, always giving him the best they could.

He regretted the ripped off photos. The rejection. Everything.

He couldn’t wait to make things right with them.

Nya stared at him silently. She took his hand, caressing it slowly. Like she was discovering every little part for the first time. Even if they were clearly male and female, the hands of two engineers were evident. They were similar. They complimented each other.

“Jay, I know this is a bad moment for you. And the situation has all the basics to fall into the usual battle for saving Ninjago. For this reason, for now, I won’t tell you how exactly I feel.” She tightened her grab. “But when everything will be good again, when your life will finally find a balance… will you reconsider us?” Her voice got lower and softer in the last sentence.

The blue ninja widened his eyes. It sounded like the discussion from another universe. Their broke up generated jealousy, hate and distance. It took a really long time to accept it. At first, he had wished for nothing more than getting together again.

Now? Everything was too complicated in his head.

But the thought itself was comforting. Because it meant a clearer future.

“I… I can’t make promises right now. But I’m sure, I’ll want to make clear who are we.”

Nya gave him a little peck on the cheek. It was warm.

Jay accompanied her to the door, never letting go her hand. In his head there were Lynn, his dad, the Walkers, the void and his brothers. He needed to reconsider everything, himself included. After that, he was going to know what to do.

The master of water smiled at him.

“Goodnight, Jay.”

“Goodnight, Nya.”

When the door closed, he felt lighter. He let himself fall onto the bed in a happy sigh. He had a good feeling for tomorrow. For the future in general. He felt like he was able to fix everything, like every other mechanical problem.

He turned towards his nightstand. He left the photo with him and Lynn there. Nya didn’t question it, thankfully. He took it. On that little furniture there was also the frame with all of them, proud and united. The family that was always going to last. He opened the closet and took out one of the ripped off one, with only Ed and Edna on it. They were smiling lovingly, even if their adopted son was out of the picture. Jay put them near the frame, making sure it leaned against it so he could see them.

They deserved to be there. Lynn didn’t.

He tried to put her in the closet but stopped. Instead he leaved her face down on the nightstand. Not good, but better. The important people of his life were standing, that was the important.

Jay felt good. So good he was tired. In other situation he would had felt ecstatic enough to spend the night playing videogames. But now he felt an incredibly pleasurable numbness all other himself. He didn’t want to move.

He closed his eyes. Again, Lynn was there. The Walkers too, and the other ninja.

He smiled, embracing the sweet _void_ in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo everybody! Heard about tomorrow? TEASER INCOMING!!! YAAAAAYYY!!! <3  
> Can't wait for more about my favorite show!!! ^ ^
> 
> But back to the chapter, it was needed for establish the situation. Jay's situation, Kai's weird power, and Zane's researches about his dad. All of this needed to be included, and to be honest I did not find a dinamic way of doing it, so here we go with an explaination moment all together ^^" Hope it wasn't too boring.  
> We're heading to the Floating Ruins once again! I replayed Shadows of Ronin for writing about the background (one of my favorite levels honestly, with Hiroshi's labyrinth!) so I'll base mostly on that. Buuuut that's for next chapter!
> 
> Thanks for the people that commented lately, I'm sorry I take so long for the updates ^///^ Also, would anyone like to make drawings based on this story? I'm thinking about linking the chapters on Tumblr, and fanarts are always successful at capturing attention. Of course I would link the author and give them full credits, linking the account on this story as well! If anyone is interested, pm me to my account on tumblr "purplerose244"
> 
> I think that was it, as always tell me if you find any errors!  
> See ya next chapter! Byee!! ^ ^


	6. Day Six: "D-dad..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it, where the "fun" starts ^^" I see this chapter as the classic Ninjago moment when you can't relax, because you know that from now on everything will be on the edge  
> ... or maybe it's just me being hyper as much as destroyed inside after The Fall (SO MANY FEELS OMG)  
> I don't know if I said this before, but this is just my personal interpretation of the previous elemental masters, since besides Ray and Maya we know very little about them. So take it as it is, a fanwork <3  
> Enjoy! ^ ^

It wasn’t raining. That is how Jay realized this day was going to be great. Or incredibly anomalous. That was the first time ever he saw the Floating Ruins not completely soaked in rain, or under a blanket of storms of doom.

It was a lucky day. Or a really weird one. But positive thinking, so a good one.

Jay landed first, like always with his fast dragon.

“Phew, that took way longer than I expected.”

From behind he felt a huff, from none other than the master of hotheads… uhm, fire.

“Whose fault is that, mister ‘I know a shortcut’?”

“The Floating Ruins are created on my element! You think I don’t know the way?” (sorry XD)

“What logic is that, the Temple of Fire is not my apartment! Lunch time will come soon, and we will have barely a look around! Then it would be just us, a place charged of electricity, and a hungry ghost right behind!”

Cole rolled his eyes, finally arriving with the others.

“I’ll try not to become a cannibal, Kai.”

“Can’t you cut it out for, like, five seconds? We’re not even inside!” The green ninja stared curiously at the area. “So, these are the Floating Ruins. I’ve never been here, at the time you got the Nunchaku of Lightning I wasn’t part of the team yet!” He looked slightly excited to be there.

The red ninja started messing with his hair.

“When you were still a little bundle of evilness!”

“Hey! Ahaha! Stop it!!” Lloyd tried to escape, laughing uncontrollably.

Jay sighed happily. He never slept better, or at least the best he did during that period. That, even after dreaming about Lynn for most of the time. Her making faces to make him laugh. Her cradle him until he fell asleep. Her talking, but without voice. Her loving expression was captivating. He even dreamt about her meeting the Walkers, sensei, the ninja. And all of them were smiling.

Oddly, he did not dream about his dad.

Breakfast went amazing, thanks to their favorite robot chef. Waffles, pancakes, jam, eggs and bacon, chocolate or maple syrup, fresh fruits, juice and tea. And the calories had been calculated with precision, by the good nindroid Zane was.

Everybody felt satisfied and full of energy.

They warned Wu about their intentions. He just gave Kai a concerned look, then just nodded and asked them to be careful. They didn’t see Misako.

Nya got off his brother’s dragon, looking around.

“Well, I wasn’t in the team either, at that time.”

Jay grinned.

“Are you telling me you haven’t been left hanging on a puddle of lava here? We must remedy!” The master of water gave him a joking elbow. Things were easier between them. There was going to be a better time in the future to talk about their actual relationship. For now, they could talk about their similar humor and their common passions.

Cole was staring at them with a weird face. He pointed at Zane.

The master of ice was working on the little panel in his wrist.

“I made a research on the rock Jay gave me yesterday, and I found an interesting result. Scanning the area, I came to the conclusion this rock has been collected from a precise zone of the Floating Ruins. There are no mistakes.”

Lloyd hummed thoughtfully.

“So that is our destination?”

“It is the best lead we have.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Cole went first. He didn’t look to focused, his legs went through all the rocks on his path. He wasn’t even trying to look human.

The green ninja furrowed his forehead, clearly concerned. He gave Jay a look.

The master of lightning nodded. Yep. His best friend. His duty.

Eheh, duty.

The Floating Ruins could had been similar to the Temple of Fire, if only the entire building wasn’t shattered in pieces flying in the air without control. The door could be seen… and that was it. The rest of the place was lost, the walls formed a few little islands, the fragments were hit by lightnings every now and then. Most of the place was just a giant floating island, covered in a swampy vegetation for all the rain that was typical for the place.

Zane was in charge of the line, since he knew where to go. Right behind him Lloyd, with Kai and Nya not far. Jay was pretty much in the center, with Cole behind his back. The master of earth was really lucky this was only a stormy day, and not a rainy one.

He didn’t look like he cared much anyway.

The blue ninja slowed his steps, reaching him.

“Everything’s fine, Dirtclod?”

Cole gulped violently, looking at him in shock.

“What!? What is it??”

“I just asked if you’re okay. Calm down, buddy.”

“Oh, yes, nothing broken! Eh eh!” He laughed nervously. “Like that would ever happen, am I right? I can’t imagine! Can you? I sure cannot, that would be absurd! Even if I found myself in that kind of situation, I’m sure I would break something and not the opposite! Ha! Typical mighty Cole!”

Jay blinked. Did he just blabbered? 

“… first, you just made a Jay. You can’t beat me at my own thing, it’s not happening. Second, you’re so unfocused I’m pretty sure the ground will swallow you any moment.” His feet were literally inside the path. “Come on, what’s bothering you? I thought secrets were off limits, finally!” He didn’t want to play that game anymore.

Cole shook his head.

“It’s not that. I don’t even know what it is. I had this problem for a while now.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t know, moodiness? Sometimes I feel so comfortable I could lay on the ground and sleep forever. Sometimes I’m really frustrated instead, a lot!” He sighed. “I don’t know, maybe this ghost thing has these side effects, and I’m only dealing with them in the hard way. I’m sure it will go away eventually. Didn’t want to worry you.”

Jay smiled. At least he was sincere.

“No problem, bro.” He tried to catch up with the others.

“Ah, uhm, Jay?”

“Yes?”

“If for whatever reason we will split up, how about you come with me? You know, just like old times…” Cole went green again. That blush was really curious. He looked uncomfortable, but he also had that light in his eyes.

That day the blue ninja was too much in a good mood to notice.

“Sweet! Who doesn’t love old times?” If smile could kill Cole’s one would had been a giant sword in his stomach. Still wasn’t really concerning him. “Come on, we still have a long way! We need to keep up!” He couldn’t wait to know. Unlocking the real potential, saving Cole’s father, everything could be there. For once, he felt like the situation could only get better.

Without a giant lightning dragon up to chase them, the journey went way easier than the first time. They just needed to jump from one island to another, sometimes with airjitzu, sometimes with Nya’s grappling hook – that girl sure knew what accessories to bring –, sometimes with some good old jump up kick back whip around and… oh, some weird déjà-vu right now.

Thinking about, the Floating Ruins were kinda like an enormous unsolved maze. Jay was starting to think similarities were never going to end.

Zane stopped suddenly. They were pretty much on one of the biggest islands, covered by the ruins of what the temple could had been. From that distance they could see the path leading where the Nunchaku of Lightning were, on the top of that long chain, surrounded by the worst of the lightning storm. Around there were other ways, a floating platform in vertical with moss on it, like a climbing wall. The others were paths of flying rocks, not too stable at first look.

The master of lightning noticed the nindroid’s hesitation, like he had problem with his wrist… yeah.

Lloyd reached him.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m afraid the electromagnetic waves are interfering with my navigator. I’m no longer able to determinate the exact point where the rock has been pricked up.” Zane tried one more time, on his little screen a big red cross appeared. “Nothing. The electromagnetism it’s too strong. If I force the system, I might overcharge it.” He looked around. “But this is indeed the right area. From here, to the place where we found the golden weapon. It might take a while, but consistently less then when we started.”

The green ninja nodded.

“We should split up. If you find something, or you’re in danger, shoot an elemental beam to the sky.”

Kai snickered.

“Isn’t it too much of a cliché? Are we gonna be attacked by zombies?”

Lloyd gave him an unimpressed look.

“If you wanna jinxed it like that, I’ll go with Zane while you stay all alone. I’m sure the undead will love you well done.” He grinned, then gestured to the master of ice towards the vertical platform. They jumped on it and started to climb.

The master of fire snickered.

“We’re such a bad influence for him. Hey sis, shall we?”

“Well…” The master of water hesitated.

The blue ninja did not see anything else, too busy giving a fist bump to his prophetic friend.

“How did you even know?”

“What can I say? I’m even greater then how you thought I was!” Cole didn’t waste another second. This time he was avoiding every obstacle, perfectly focus and consistent.

Jay didn’t understand the problem but didn’t question it.

The feeling of déjà-vu was extreme. Every single step, he could see the himself from a long time ago trying to reach the top – in his not so stylish ninja suit – to grab the golden weapon. The climb, the dragon and then the descent on his mechanical wings. That had been one of the most successful moment of his life. His inventions were useful. He was useful.

He smiled happily.

“Kinda brings you back, uh?”

“You can say that again.” Cole looked at the chain. “It’s weird. At that time, we thought the battle against Lord Garmadon was gonna be the end of everything. And now look at us! I’m a ghost, you… look shorter.”

The blue ninja gave him a push.

“I’m not! What’s wrong with all of you??”

“Hey, calm down!” Cole snickered. “It’s not that bad, I definitely upgraded my opinion on you, since at that time I genuinely considered you to be an annoying blabbering pain in the neck!”

Jay stuck out his tongue.

“Such honor! I thought you were a scared of dragons long face!”

“They don’t scare me anymore!”

“Yeah, I mean, we went through snakes, ghosts…”

“Hey!!” Cole gave him an elbow, managing to hit him… unlike last time. “I… I didn’t know this would have cause such a chain reaction. If I only I knew, I would’ve just told dad all the truth. At least, you wouldn’t feel so bad about your family.” He lowered his eyes. Jay noticed, whenever he got sad, his green color would go duller.

He tried to smile at him. He really didn’t want to ruin the mood of the day.

“I’m not sure if I would prefer living forever without knowing. At least I’m doing something. Besides, we already went through a lot, this is nothing! Let’s just find the spot of this rock! It’s gonna be a piece of… oh…” He had the eyes on the chain, with thousands of lightnings dancing all around. His vision got foggy for a second. His mind fluctuated.

The black ninja immediately got closer to him.

“What is it? Are you still sick?”

Jay shook his head, that caused him to see even more misty. The spots of the thunders were blue, and incredibly vivid even without a form.

“I just feel… weird. Like I have to… follow… the spots…” He started to walk. His mind was pleasurably light, like having a balloon connected to his neck. He could almost jump after every step. He ground under his feet was trembling like jelly.

He really was feeling good today.

Another spot, a green one, grabbed him.

“Wait a second! Spots? Why are you making so little sense in this period?”

“Let go, just… I have to… go…” Jay tried to slip out of his grasp. It was hard, for someone like him. Like… him? Who was the spot, again? He didn’t care.

He needed to follow the blue.

He suddenly decided to run, so his hand was free. He didn’t know where he was going, just that his destination was nearby. He got faster, maybe he really was less heavy. He jumped, and he felt like he suddenly started to fly. Another jump. Another one. So funny and nice. Was somebody calling him from behind? Not that he cared. He was feeling really good.

He heard something else. Like a roar? Weird.

He jumped again, and his hands told him to grab. And so he did. He started to climb. Everything around was turning white, except for those blue spots all around him. He was following the highest one. Because he really wanted to move right now. So much.

He managed to get to the top, raising his hands.

Then, he heard something hitting him. And all changed.

Everything went white, all the world was uniform. A light bluish mist flew around the place. It was silent if not for a few echoes of thunders in the distances. The spots were flashes that occasionally colored the air. Jay blinked and looked around. Under his feet there was an apparently infinite pavement, covered in blue ideograms. As soon as he stepped on them, they shined. The place looked open but closed. There was no wind, no weather. The Floating Ruins were completely gone.

Wait, where was he? Where was Cole? Did he just leave him alone?

He just couldn’t follow a plan without interferences, could he?

Suddenly, Jay noticed a figure. Someone to talk to. He would have tried to, if only that person wasn’t the protagonist of his latest dreams. Long blond hair, shining intelligent eyes and the sweetest smile of all. She was even more beautiful in person.

Lynn smiled at him.

“Welcome, new holder of the lightning.”

Jay swallowed hard.

“… mom?”

She shook slowly her head. Looking better, in the eyes she didn’t have the same soul. Everything in her looked calmer.

“I’m afraid not. I am the manifestation of the previous master of lightning.” She bowed a little. “Welcome, new master of the fast element, in the astral realm of the lightning. It is a new level of power the reason of your presence?”

Jay gulped. It was surreal hearing her talk. He didn’t even know if that was her real voice. She was a copy. A manifestation, she said. She wasn’t the woman that gave birth to him. He really didn’t know if feeling relieved or disappointed.

“Wait a second, astral realm of the lightning? What’s that?”

“Have you ever wondered where a master takes his power? Where it comes from? This is the answer. This place was formed after Ninjago was created by the first Spinjitzu Master. Here, the lightning reigns in his purest form, ready to be summoned by his holder. Every master of lightning before you came here to dip into the primordial form of the power. To unlock the ultimate energy.” She was talking slowly. Her voice was inconsistent and light.

Jay was feeling overwhelmed. He never questioned the origin of his lightning, and it made sense that this was its “house”. It felt weird being there, now.

He breathed slowly.

“I’m here for the real potential. I mean, the power, the thing.”

“So you wish to test yourself into the trial of light?” Copy Lynn raised her hands. “Only those who are marked by the symbol of the lightning have the privilege to use its purest power. You, then, wish to test your heart, your mind and your body?”

The blue ninja swallowed.

“I guess so. It’s not like I can back off now.”

“Very well. Come closer and kneel before me.”

“Is this going to hurt? Should I be worried? Am I the only one freaked out? Well, that is a yes…”

“Please, do not question it. Just obey, and everything will be clear.” He did so, sighing quietly. “For years, the masters challenged their limits to prove themselves worthy to add their life in the astral realm. They need to reach the place where the element reigns, listen to it closely and let it infuse them with its power.” He really was understanding little of all but decided to follow her advice. “Your ancestor left her name here. New master of lightning, are you ready to prove you can succeed those who came before you?”

Jay clenched his fists. She was looking at her feet. It wasn’t as hard as he thought thinking that she really wasn’t his real mother. He was scared though, he really was alone.

But it was too late to come back.

“I am… I think.”

“Then put your hand on the ground, there, where there are no symbols. The light will search in you something where it can put the mark. As soon as the astral realm will write your path, you will be one with the fast element.”

He really didn’t understand. He so wished to have human-bot dictionary Zane by his side.

And Cole. Anybody, really. Just to hear a real voice.

He touched the place without signs with his bare hand. His body tensed by his own. He couldn’t move, almost couldn’t breathe. He tried to looked at copy Lynn, but she wasn’t there anymore. And his neck wasn’t collaborating either. He just waited.

And then, a light appeared on his hand.

He was in Jamanakai village, but it looked older. Some houses were smaller, and all the roofs were made of wood. Some bricks were missing, on many walls, and the path was covered in pebbles and cobblestones. Rustic, but still peaceful.

He heard laughs. He couldn’t move, but the scene was playing before him.

He saw them.

A young woman with long blond hair, wearing an indigo yukata covered in clouds. She was dragging a person by the hand, running full speed like she had wings under her feet. The other girl, with a long brown braid and a pearl gray yukata, was trying her best to keep up.

“Come on! Can’t you speed up a little bit?”

“The cave can’t escape, Lynny! Calm down!”

“We planned this all this time! And you don’t know if the cave heard, we still haven’t explored it and it might have ears everywhere!”

Misako giggled.

“Never mind then, let’s not be late!” She held her hand back and reached her, running as fast as her. Like there was no problem in the world, they laughed together.

They reached a hill, not far away from the village. The grass was beautifully green, it caressed every step they made. They stopped in front of a rock.

Lynn let go of her friend and kneeled down. Her eyes were burning in excitement.

“How was it? The poem, I mean.”

Misako hummed softly, lowering as well.

“ _Let go of the rule, in front of my love. Let go, every fool, it’s easy to solve. Don’t try to pull, you’ll never arrive. Just let yourself full, in falling and dive_. Are we sure this is the right one? It’s gonna hurt if something goes wrong…” She was carefully looking at the rock, petting it slightly like she was afraid it was gonna turn into a monster.

… it could happen, you know.

Lynn shrugged, without taking her eyes away.

“I’m pretty sure. I mean, there aren’t many other explanations.”

“So we are really going to jump on a rock, hoping to go through it?”

“Yes! Ready, Misa?”

Misako sighed, nodding. They held hands again, looking at each other, climbing the rock pretty quickly. They waited for a moment, balancing on the top. The wind made they hair move. Then, at the same moment, they jumped.

They went through it. And fell down in a secret cavern, that as soon as they appeared shined in hundreds of blue crystals. The place was cold, but the light was soft and captivating.

Lynn got up first and laughed enthusiastically, jumping up and down.

“I knew it! I knew it! The cavern exists!! Did you see it?? It’s so beautiful, look at these shining stones!! Are they natural?? Or made of magic?? They were here from the start or the two lovers put them here?? Aaahhh, I wanna know!!”

Misako raised an eyebrow, still on the ground.

“Before that, can you give me a hand?”

“Oh, right, eheh.” Lynn helped her get on her feet. “You sure you’re okay? I know I bugged you a lot for this scavenging, but it looks like lately you get tired a lot… and if _I_ don’t get beat down by Ninjago’s great history, then you can’t.” She snickered a little.

Her friend smiled in return, a little less vital. She sighed, starting to walk.

“Well, I’m not really supposed to tell you.”

“What?! Misa!!! Best friends rule number one, secrets told nay makes your hair gray-gray!!”

“That’s really not how it works.”

Lynn huffed, crossing her arms on her chest.

“Tell my dad that! He’s not old enough to have them, and yet!” She nudged her a little. “Come on, please? You can tell me a secret, I’m good at those… what’s that look? Sure I’m talkative, doesn’t mean I scream about everything!” She pouted, but quickly lightened up, looking at the mystic light surrounding them. Her eyes were shining of blue.

Misako looked down at her steps. The rock under her feet was solid, the crystals were shining only after passing near them. She nodded to herself.

“It really needs to stay between us, okay? No words, not even with your dad.”

“Fingers crossed! Not like he cares anyway…”

“Remember the legend of the first Spinjitzu Master?” Lynn raised her eyebrow at her. “Yeah, sure, we know it by heart. I was at the monastery, talking with Garmadon about details of the great battle… don’t give me that look, it barely involves him!” Misako looked away from her friend’s smug look, scratching her cheek just to ignore the slight brush on her face.

Her friend shrugged innocently, without changing expression.

“I said nothing.”

“You were thinking of making a joke about how I never showed this much interest towards someone since that time I drooled over that guy at the library of Domu, because of the new edition of Ancient Ruins written by Hiroshi he had in his hands.”

“… you’re no fun, Misa.” She slowed down, kneeling in front of a crystal and making a funny face. She laughed at her reflection. “So? Go on, if it’s about one of the first Spinjitzu Master’s sons, that is one hundred percent historical accurate! Tell me!! Tell mee!!”

Misako sighed, smiling nonetheless. In a more domesticated form, the same passion burnt inside her eyes.

“He told me something interesting. You know that script about the Advent of Ninjago? We thought all of those elements were merely metaphors. But they are so much more than that! It’s about the first Spinjitzu Master’s guardians, those that inherited his amazing powers! In fact, according to Garmadon, for each element there is a specific elemental master.”

Lynn looked at her friend in disbelief, quickly smiling with enthusiasm. She grabbed her hand again, speeding up, like a sprint of energy made her faster.

“Oh Ninjago, this is amazing! How many elements there are? Have you met some of those masters? Is Garmadon one of them? Is it Wu? How do you recognize an element? Can you become one or is about heritage? I need to knooooow!!”

Misako laughed, trying to keep up, holding onto her to avoid tripping.

“Calm down, thunder! I’m still human, you know?

“You can’t ask me this after dropping such a bomb! Do you realize that all over our land there are powerful beings ready to protect us no matter what? It’s like having a group of heroes!”

“Well, it is pretty incredible.” She managed to hold the other a bit, going back to walking, the cavern getting a little humid. “Apparently Garmadon and Wu inherited their father’s main powers, which aren’t exactly connected to nature, while the remaining elements were left to a selected group of people. From what I know, it is about heritage. You need to be born with it.”

Lynn was shaking in excitement, her eyes shining like stars, blue from the crystals that were still shining around her no matter what.

“This is so cool! Awn, why you’re the only one that can interact with them? I wanna know them! And the elemental masters too!”

Misako smiled in return.

“For what you know, you might have met one of them. They are not different from us, in fact Wu is a pretty close friend with the elemental master of fire, Ray. Which is apparently around our age.”

“Whoa, what a story!… look!!” The end of the corridor was getting closer, the crystals were marking the way like they were welcoming them.

The ceiling heightened, all of the sudden. In a dark atmosphere, suddenly the last crystals shined. Then, a phosphorescent blue grass lightened up, trembling under a wind coming from nowhere. In the center there was a tree. The leaves shined one by one, then the trunk made itself clear, so big it looked like it was the main column of the cave. The reflection of the blue light made the normal rocks shine, and it was like looking at painting made of different shades of blue.

The two girls were speechless. They looked at each other, smiling.

Lynn was clearly doing her best not to freak out.

“It’s the right one… the Tree of the Promise. The one from the story!!”

Misako nodded eagerly.

“The one where Tai Sho and Ichizu made a promise of eternal love!”

“Come on!” Lynn dragged her under the tree. “Can you feel it, the tension under every leaf, every crystal? Two beings so different and yet able to complement each other, to the point Ninjago itself changed because of them. How, it’s up to us to know!!” She looked around for a moment, then let herself fall onto the shining grass. “I’m booooored!!”

Misako laughed, closing her eyes, the lack of wind compensated with the fresh humidity of the place. It was a little hard to keep looking though.

“Look at you, the brave explorer!”

“You made me all too excited about the elemental masters, now everything is dull in comparison! That is so cruel, Misako!” Lynn got up, sliding behind her. “To make up for it, you need to tell me more! About Ray maybe? Or others, come on, don’t leave me hanging!” She undid her braid, making a new one. Her fingers were shaking, like she absolutely needed to do something.

Misako rolled her eyes but nodded, letting her work on her hair.

“I don’t know much honestly, the guardians were usually called by the first Spinjitzu Master in case of emergency. Now the new generation has little to do, so there is no reason to call them.” She giggled. “From Wu I heard that Ray is a pretty hotheaded guy!”

Lynn grinned as well.

“Just a little cliché, don’t you think?”

“A tiny bit. But he’s also extremely loyal and a loving person. That’s all I know, I’m guessing he’s the one that keeps Wu out of trouble.”

“Like you do with me! From your personal troublemaker, thanks!” She hugged her from behind, letting go of the braid. “Oh, come on!” She stuck out her tongue, going back to the hair that did not hold together like they should had.

Misako laughed.

“I’m in no hurry to meet them, though.”

“Whaaat? Why not?”

“It would mean troubles. Worse, a war. I guess there’s no reason to think so pessimistically, but we wouldn’t need a group of heroes with powers if bad things couldn’t happen.” Lynn hummed, lost in thoughts. “But to be honest, I would like to meet at least the main elements, you know? Knowing Ray, the earth, the ice and the lightning.” The fidgeting on her braid stopped abruptly. “Lynny? What’s wrong?”

“… lightning? Aren’t the elements fire, earth, wind and water?”

Misako shook her head.

“What? Of course not, remember the Golden Weapons? Those are the main ones.”

“That’s not what I studied! In my book there were the Sword of Fire, the Scythe of Earthquake, the Fans of Wind and the Daggers of Water! Those are the elements!” Lynn bit her lip, letting go of her friend’s hair, the braid that that a few shining leaves in it.

Her friend gave her an unsettling look. The place around them was so silent, not even a gust of wind could be heard.

“What are you talking about? Fire and earth are correct, but there are the Shuriken of Ice and the Nunchaku of Lightning! Those are the basics, where did you read those baloney?”

“My dad’s book.”

“That is not accurate at all, Lynny! You can check on every historical volume!”

Lynn swallowed. Suddenly her burst of energy was gone. She looked lost, unbelieving. She looked at her own hands like she saw them for the first time.

“It’s like he wanted me to believe that those elements weren’t real.”

“That is absurd. When we get back to the village, I’m taking you to the library.”

“So, the lightning… and the ice, of course.” She scooted closer to her friend. “How do they work? I mean, the first Spinjitzu Master used, duh, spinjitzu. Obviously his guardians do the same, right? that is how you know it’s them, overwise they’re just weird people that somehow can electrocute possums… and ice them!!” She smiled, so strongly, so quickly.

Misako looked at her worried.

“I mean, not really, Ray is not a master of spinjitzu. You can be an elemental master without learning that martial art, those are not connected… are you okay, Lynny?”

Lynn froze. Something came in front of her eyes. Something that slowly changed her position, less stiff, more at age. Like she quickly got to the realization inside of her, accepting whatever thought disturbed her in the first place.

“I’m fine, just… I can’t believe I studied a not accurate book!! That is inexcusable!!”

Misako sighed in relief, smiling.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad, you know the rest and it fits. I guess your dad just wanted to mess with you a little bit. Don’t give him a too bad of a time.”

“No promises! Though I really wanna meet the elemental masters now!”

“Garmadon can’t know I told you! You think he would close an eye just because you wanted to know the master of ice?”

Lynn went quiet. She faked a sneeze, and the grass around moves. She giggled.

“I just think it would be cool to be able to make my own ice-cream.”

“I’m not sure the power works that way.” Misako laughed anyway.

The place was calm. Their voices were echoes in the distance. So far away. And even from that distance, Lynn’s voice was still off. Like she was doing her best to sound like herself. Maybe it was that. Being energetic, being the usual one. No matter what.

The light on his hand started to climb his arm. Jay felt a shiver, it kinda tickled. It went on his neck, and at that point he laughed. It was kinda cold. Kinda warm too. Maybe both. Maybe none. It was hard to tell. The light caressed his cheek, then stopped on the center of his forehead.

It was Wu’s monastery.

There were a few elemental masters, but they looked relaxed. They were chatting, some of them were sparring, in a calm atmosphere. Garmadon was sitting far away from everybody else. Wu was near the master of fire, getting comforting pats from him.

On the stairs in front of the gate, two of them were seated.

Lynn’s legs were dangling. She sighed. She looked more mature, there were a few marks under the eyes and her hair was tied up. She had the same light in the eyes, just a little more tired and less blinded by joy.

Nearby, a man with a curious helmet and a big frown was staring at her.

“If you’re not happy it’s not worth it, you know.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“How’s not easy? You got engaged because of an infatuation that did not last, thinking love could compensate time.” He mimed an explosion with his hands. “Boom, didn’t work! Now you’re living your flawless married life!” Another explosion. “Boom, it’s not as beautiful as you expected to be! It’s life, you shouldn’t stay with a man just because you don’t see an option.” He spoke harshly, but somehow in a gentle way.

Lynn rolled her eyes. For the first time, in an annoyed way.

“You should talk. Is it just me or I haven’t heard about a Mrs. Toch?”

The man blushed. He crossed his arms.

“My sister wants to move to Ninjago City, make new experiences, maybe sing in some theaters. Why should I care about relationships, when she needs me? If Gaia is happy and healthy, then I already made my part. Until her life is complete, mine can wait.”

The master of lightning shook her head.

“Seriously, heart of gold as much as you want, you shouldn’t waste your life like that.”

“Giving yourself for the ones you love is wasting time?”

“… you have a point. See, you do have a heart!” She giggled.

Toch gave her a playful elbow.

“There’s not a rock in my chest, if that’s what you thought!”

“Ahah, I didn’t say that!”

“Then what, Ly?”

“I didn’t say that. Never, not even when you decided to join the serpentine’s side. You came back and got reunited with all of us.”

He lowered his gaze.

“I had my reasons…”

“I know, I know. I kinda wish I had the same will you have.” Lynn stared at the sky. It was almost the sunset, the sun’s shining rays were getting orange.

Toch put a hand on her back.

“You are strong, Ly. So much that sometimes it scares me.”

“Then why I can’t say goodbye to Cliff?”

“You’re scared. To be alone, for him to be alone, that this isn’t the right choice. It’s right and normal, but there something you have to understand.” He smiled slyly. “Destiny loves to play cards foolishly, like it has no idea what it’s doing. But truth to be told, it’s holding the best turn for last. Trust it, you’ll see!” He gave her a half-hug.

He was strong, she was slim. They fitted perfectly.

Lynn giggled. Her eyes were lucid.

“You really need to stop playing with Clayton. You never win.”

“Not my fault his poker face is perfect! No kidding, he doesn’t even have one! Master of light as much as you want, he’s a cheater!” Toch looked at her right in the eyes. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“I think so.”

“Ly, no matter what happen, I’ve got you. All of us got you. We’re your friends, and we will never let you down. It’s a promise.”

Lynn sniffed a little.

“I won’t either. Thanks, Toch.” She hugged him close.

The light descended on his back. Jay laughed again. Then, it stopped in the middle of the shoulder blades, at the high of his heart.

The new place was extremely luminous. The sun from the window was really intense. The place looked dull, like in an old picture. It was some kind of study room, with a big desk and pile of papers everywhere. Most of them were script for scene and movies.

Cliff entered in that moment, sitting on the chair. His eyes were half closed, like he was tired and couldn’t see properly. He was wearing a pair of glasses. He wasn’t old, just weary. From the window it could be seen an aquarium, some tall building, and one of Chen’s noodle house. It was way more modern than before, and definitely Ninjago City.

The phone ringed. Cliff answered without taking his eyes off of the papers.

“Gordon, who is it?”

“-… hey, knight in space.-”

An immediate smile relaxed his tense nerves.

“I kinda hoped you would learn after all this time. Not that I expected you to study theater.”

“-Too bad I did. Samurai in space, was it? You did great, I saw the movie yesterday.-” She hesitated for a moment. “-We haven’t talked in a while, haven’t we? I hope nobody got your shoes all dirty, that would be horrendous.-”

Cliff relaxed on the back of the chair, sighing softly.

“I wasn’t forced over a dark tunnel to propose, that’s for sure.”

“-Good, that’s good.-”

“Though I kinda miss that.” He snickered. “How about you? Thunders and lightnings?””

“-Not exactly. I found a little job at Domu’s library, they needed an interpreter of ancient languages. The monks are nice, but there’s little to do, really.-” She sighed. “-I can’t complain, though I feel like I’m aging too quickly. I even have to wear glasses when I read!-”

Cliff giggled, touching his own.

“Not the only one, trust me. So, you just wanted to hear the captivating sound of my voice again?”

A giggle.

“-That… and also, maybe, we could see each other. I know it’s not the best situation, maybe I shouldn’t force it, but I do miss you. I hoped to talk to you, maybe while eating something together… if it’s weird tell me now! Really! The situation is really hard, maybe we still haven’t got over it, we want different things, we established that, we risk to messed up everything, but after seeing you at the cinema I really wanted to compliment you, though if you want me to…!-”

Cliff laughed, interrupting her.

“Lynn, you’re doing it again.”

“-Oh.-” She sounded really embarrassed now. “-Sorry. Haven’t changed much after all.-”

“I know. I missed you too. I would love to hang out with you again. And don’t be this nervous, just because things went the way they went doesn’t mean were forbidden to see each other. You still mean a lot to me.” Cliff took a look on his agenda. “Today I have rehearsal, and tomorrow an interview with a director. But I think I can anticipate that, how about tomorrow evening? My treat.” He closed his eyes, like he loved waiting for the answer.

The window was open. A breeze made a paper fall down.

“-I would like that. See you tomorrow, Cliff.-”

“See you soon.” The call ended. “Maybe it really is that destiny the elemental masters love so much to talk about.” He grabbed the paper. His eyes widened a little and colored in sadness.

Jay could barely see over his shoulder. It was enough.

It was a divorce certificate.

He gulped, walking backwards. Trying to. He couldn’t move. The light was in the same place. Jay heard some kind of bell. The light vibrated a little. He closed his eyes. It wasn’t a bad feeling. He took a long breath. It was relaxing. He felt lighter.

Like all of the energy he needed was there.

“You were judged worthy of the power. Use it wisely, Jayden Gordon, master of lightning.”

Wait, what did she…?

He opened his eyes, seeing nothing but light, a long whistle in his left ear. Was that the real potential? Where was he, by the way? Ah, wait… it wasn’t the potential. He got hit by a lightning while he was walking around. And it felt great. The strongest feeling of realization of his life. His eyesight was getting better. His skin was tingling, he felt like everything was at his mercy. All the Floating Ruins was clear in his mind.

His legs let go of him. Again, those little traitors. He fell, but he felt too good to care. Never before he felt such a strong feeling of serenity. No fear. No anxiety. Maybe just a little discomfort over his heart, for some reason. A reason he did not care about.

He just felt like he was there. Born in the right place.

Suddenly the sight changed. Cole had eyes widened in terror. He had grabbed him just in time.

“Have you lost your mind?! What the heck were you doing up there??”

Jay looked at him confused. Then, he noticed. He climbed the scent without realizing, apparently. Being so close to the sky, obviously he got hit by a lightning. Now he got the message. The little lightning rod. It was easier than he thought it was going to be.

He looked at his hand and focused. The lightning appeared, finally.

“I was increasing my power. Mission completed!” He laughed at his friend’s unbelieving expression. “Come on, like I would take a lightning without a reason!” He kinda did, but he didn’t even know the details, so no need to explain.

“You almost gave me a heart-attack, you lightning-proof insane…!”

“Ahah, did I scare the mighty Cole? Come on, let’s just shoot these elemental beams and…” He was hugged, all of the sudden. “… Cole?”

The master of earth shook in head into his shoulder.

“Don’t do that again.”

“But I was…”

“I don’t care, don’t you ever do that again!” He tightened his embrace. “I don’t know what I would do if I had to lose someone else. So please, be safe.” His breathing was trembling. His body was more human, less transparent. This focused Jay never saw him before.

He smiled, returning the hug. He missed that strength, it was incredibly caring.

“You’re always the best at hugging.”

“What?”

“I mean, Zane is way too cold. Lloyd and Nya never do it with much force. Kai is warm, but always a little stiff, I think it kinda embarrassed him. This makes you the master of cuddles!” As he expected, the black ninja immediately let go.

He was darker on the cheek and the nose. Again, the green blush. It was kinda adorable.

“M-master of…! Shut up, you’re the master of blabbering!”

“All of us have qualities, don’t you think?”

“It’s… alright, whatever.” He smiled in resignation. “You really are weird, Jay Walker.”

For some reason, hearing his name from him felt incredibly right. Jason Gordon was just another person… wait, didn’t the manifestation of Lynn call him another way? And also, in his vision of her life, he saw other people. Misako, his dad, that Toch…

Jay looked at Cole. He didn’t want to ask, but having all the pieces together was fundamental.

“Cole, your… your mother’s name was Gaia, by any chance?”

The master of earth widened his eyes.

“How do you know?”

“I saw something, when I was hit. The previous master of lightning’s life, my mother’s life. At least a part of it. And the master of earth, Toch, named his sister Gaia. Do you think…?” That was as far as he was going to go.

The black ninja seemed lost. His fists clenched all of the sudden.

“… I don’t know… I don’t wanna think about that possibility right now.” Jay could understand completely. “Let’s just use the beam to find the oth…” A giant thud made them both gasp.

The blue ninja blinked.

“I’m gonna guess they’re that way.” Typical. “Let’s go!… What?” The master of earth wasn’t following.

Instead, he was staring like the master of lightning just came out of nowhere.

“I didn’t notice… your suit is different!”

“My what is what?!?” Jay looked at himself. He could hardly believe it.

Lynn was wearing something extremely similar in front of Wu’s monastery. But the symbol that his mother had on her center of the belt, Jay had it on the heart. From that medallion two bands of dark cloth covered in white lightnings cut the torso in obliquus. His sleeves were black, the gloves made of leather. The pants were blue with golden trims and thunders on the kneecaps. It was comfy, more than how it looked. It was made for him.

He turned around, smiling. He could get used to it.

The master of earth took his shoulder. He turned him around again.

“I knew it! It’s not just the suit, you have something here.”

“Where?”

“Kinda on the shoulder blade, in this point.” He touched it.

Jay giggled.

“It tickles… wait a second, that part doesn’t have cloth?”

“Just this part. There is some kind of tattoo, it has your lightning symbol on it.” Cole traced the outline. The symbol was circled by some sort of ring, connected to the rest of the suit.

The blue ninja smiled.

“Well, I changed look! And before all of you! Cool, we can go now!”

“Mm? Oh, yeah, sure.” The master of earth retracted his hand.

They ran as fast as they could towards the source of the sound. They jumped from one island to another, passing over some floating rocks to get quicker. The lightnings were getting more and more frequent around them. Jay could almost see where they were going to hit. He felt like he was seeing the scene in slow-motion, and he had all the time of the world.

He felt strong. Finally.

From the distance it was immediately clear what generated that noise. The blue ninja stared worried at the black one, who paled. Those were chimeras. Luckily, as soon as they got closer, they realized neither of them was Cole’s dad. One had a ripped off red dress, while the other a blue t shirt and a pair of sunglasses without one lent.

They accelerated. Zane and Lloyd were there, in front of a cliff, keeping the two creatures busy. And from that barren, voices could be heard.

“Show them, guys! Ouch!”

“Don’t move, Kai! It might get worse!”

“Kai! Nya!” Jay reached the green ninja. “How did they fall in there? What’s going on? Why there are two chimeras right here, so far away from the city? Are these tourists? Did they lose their mind when they decided to have a trip here? Why is everything happening today, with all the days??” It was impossible having a programmed normal day after all.

Zane freeze the legs of one of them.

“They appeared suddenly to Kai and Nya. After we saw their elemental beams, we came as soon as possible, but they’ve already fallen.”

Jay was surprised. He didn’t see those beams. Well, he saw nothing for a while. What about Cole? Has he really been that worried to completely ignore anything else? The chimera got free from the ice with those powerful tentacles, screaming loudly.

Cole got into position, but his expression was tense.

“If it’s like with my dad we can’t attack them full force, they are probably other people!”

“There’s no use anyway, our powers don’t even brush them! It’s like their skin is made of vengestone!” Lloyd used his sword to intercept one of the claw.

Jay swallowed. That was not how he expected to try his new powers, but whatever. He wasn’t picky. He extended his hand towards the chimeras.

If he could stunt them, maybe they could avoid a fight, for once.

“Okay, real potential! Do your job, whatever that is!” He felt a wave of good old anxiety. “And don’t be hard to comprehend like the Techno Blades! I don’t have time to solve other puzzles! Just do something, please!” His hand was starting to pinch. The lightning was cursing through his arm. He hoped, prayed, that something was going to come out.

A blue light shined. On his shoulder blade something vibrated. He almost got blinded, so he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was holding a nunchaku. The two sticks that formed it looked kinda technological, in a navy metal with shining veins and blue screws. The chain that connected them was lightning, like with the golden weapon. But it kept sparkling, like it was charged to the maximum. It was unusual, apparently not functional.

He clenched his grab. It was completely his.

Cole looked at him in surprise.

“Did you just make that magically appear?”

“It’s not a jet created from an ancient golden nunchaku, but it’s cool and it will do!”

Jay launched himself towards the two creatures, avoiding the claws. He felt faster, or maybe just lighter on his feet. He made his weapon rotate, the sound of the lightning charging gave him shivers. His tattoo was pulsing. The master of lightning pointed the weapon towards the chimeras. He didn’t even see that lightning coming. But the next moment, the chimeras were on the ground, stunted and writhing.

Zane got closer, his eyes shined and effectuated a scan.

“… you overstimulated their nerves, but without attacking the organs. A perfect hit.”

Jay scratched the back of his head.

“Not to brag, but yeah!” He watched amazed as the weapon disappeared. “Wow, now I get why the real potential is so… shocking!” He got hit in the head by the master of the earth. And yeah, he kinda deserved it.

They got closer to the barren. It wasn’t as deep as he thought it was. The two brothers were on the end of a rocky cliff, probably where they fell. Kai was holding his ankle, he didn’t look good. Nya had a hand behind his back, worried. As soon as she saw Jay she beamed at him, waving.

“Jay! Guys! Are you alright?”

The blue ninja waved back.

“Everything’s fine! We fried them good! Hold on!” He and Lloyd slipped in the cliff with attention, reaching them. “Kai, are you okay? You got hurt?”

The master of fire shared a weird look with his sister. He had put his sleeve almost over his kneecap, his ankle was red and a little swollen. He sighed.

“I wasn’t before.”

Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

“I know you have your pride, but it happens. Especially in such a rough terrain.”

“You don’t get it, he was fine.” Nya pointed at herself. “I was the one that got the sprain.”

Jay blinked.

“… you’re not Siamese twins, are you?”

Kai punched the ground.

“Be serious, for once!! Nya got hurt when she fell into the cliff, I touched her to control the wound and now _I_ have the sprain! I don’t know how, why, and what the heck! That’s it!!” He looked close to a hysteric attack. Was that how Jay looked at those times?

It was getting popular lately.

The blue ninja hummed. It sounded impossible. But not by much. Especially after knowing about the void. He shared a look with the green ninja.

He smiled knowingly.

“How about it, Jay? A new power appearing in the less convenient situation?”

Kai furrowed his forehead.

“What does it mean?”

“Maybe it’s like the void! You know, another element! Thinking about it, since the symbols on the scrolls were more than one, it makes perfect sense that we all find a new power!” Jay helped him getting up, putting a hand behind his back.

The master of fire tried a few steps. He sighed in relief.

“Maybe it’s less serious than I thought. So, how do we get out of here?”

Lloyd looked up.

“Airjitzu. Jay, take Kai. I’ll help Nya.” He took the hand of the master of water and then a green sphere appeared, elevating him.

Jay got closer to the red ninja.

“Ciclon-do!” He ignored Kai rolling his eyes.

While flying, a weird uneasiness got into his mind. His powers were back, he felt perfectly able to hold the form until the end. His dragon was going to come back full force. He was happy about it. But on the other hand… wasn’t the real potential supposed to be the fusion with the element? All he felt was his good old lightning back under his control. Maybe a better physic condition, and a more precise control. Was he supposed to settle with that?

He landed without problems. Zane and Cole reached for them.

Jay laughed in joy.

“Mission complete, guys! I unlocked the real potential!”

Nya widened his eyes.

“Jay, your suit!”

“I know, I know, it’s hard to bare the vision of this shocking stile!” The blue ninja struck a few poses. “What do you think? Am I lighting you up? Your mind is on tilt?” He tried the most ridiculous position he could think of.

The master of water burst out laughing. She seemed way more serene.

Jay smiled. Then he felt the stare of his best friend.

Cole was looking insistently at him. He sighed.

“I get that it was the mission. I get that your lightning is better… but was it necessary for the complement, or the menace of the chimeras in general? How do you do the complement? How… how do you save my dad?”

Jay gulped. He was so excited he forgot about that, a horrible feeling made his nausea slowly come back. He lowered his gaze.

“I don’t know. I have no idea.”

“Yeah… hey, don’t make that face.” Cole smiled at him. “We did something useful at least, I’m sure we’re gonna get answers soon. At least I hope. And no matter what happen, everything will be good as long as it depends on you.” He had those trusting eyes. The same he had before a mission. Before fighting an opponent. The gaze he had given Jay, before giving up on Chen’s tournament and letting himself be captured. He wasn’t as desperate as the blue ninja left him two days ago.

It was comforting. He smiled.

Lloyd patted Jay’s shoulder.

“That power will definitely be helpful. Better be stronger for whatever is coming.” He sniffed the air. “We got lucky, but it could start raining any moment for what we know. We better go back to the bounty.” He summoned his energy dragon.

Zane helped Kai, holding his shoulders.

“Be careful.”

“I can walk, it’s less than a sprain! Come on!”

Nya rolled her eyes and joined the master of ice.

Cole was going to follow them, but he noticed the blue ninja was still.

“What is it?”

“… I need to talk to my dad. I told you I saw some parts of Lynn’s life, and some of those don’t fit with the story he told me.” Jay sighed. “I don’t like that he lied to me, I want an explanation. Also… it’s thanks to him I found the real potential.”

The black ninja stared at him. Then smiled.

“Go. I’ll warn the others.”

Jay widened his eyes.

“But we still need to discuss what to do now…”

“You just need to talk to him, right? No wait, you know what? Stay for the night. I know discussion father-son can take a lot of time!” Cole winked at him. “Enjoy it, now that you have the real one. Then we’ll talk about mine. There’s no need to rush.” He summoned his elemental dragon without riding him, just petting his face.

Jay, for once, was speechless. That guy was amazing. He had a beautiful heart and a noble soul, he never stopped showing him even when Jay was too blinded by jealousy to see him. But now that his eyes were clear, every day was one demonstration to add to several others.

He hugged his friend, as hard as he could.

“I promise, I’ll give your father back! Even if it will take all my lightning, and more, we’ll get him back! I promise you.” He leaned his forehead on the other’s shoulder. “You deserve this, and so much more.” He felt Cole’s body shiver for a second. Then he hugged back.

It felt different from before. It wasn’t the usual strong hold of his Boulder Brain friend. He was holding him gently. Like he didn’t want to hurt him. Incredibly caring. So much Jay forgot for a moment he was getting hugged by the official lifter of the team.

When they let go, Jay laughed. The master of earth was greening again.

“You really had a weird way to blush!”

Cole covered his face.

“I-I don’t blush! I’m a ghost!”

“I know, it’s not red. It’s like you get dark green, you didn’t know?” His awkward expression was screaming no. “Come on, it’s actually cute. Not more than me though, I’m the cute one!”

The master of earth gave him a skeptical look.

“Weren’t you the annoying one?”

“Ahah, you’re hilarious!” Jay successfully punched his shoulder. “Well, I guess I’ll go now. I’ll see you all tomorrow, then we’ll think about a plan, okay?”

The black ninja smiled. In his eyes a new light.

“See you tomorrow, Motor Mouth.”

***

It was such a pleasure feeling his elemental dragon in all his strength. He landed with all the needed precautious, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he ran like his life depended on it. He was fueled by pure joy and crossed the garden without stopping once, almost tripping over a gnome.

He knocked at the door. Again. And again. And again.

Cliff opened a little confused.

“Jason you know the door is always ope…?”

“I did it, dad!! I did it!! I went to Hiroshi’s Labyrinth, then at the Floating Ruins!! I made things right again with the others and most importantly…” He summoned his new weapon. “I unlocked the real potential!! And I can use this!! It’s all thanks to you, I couldn’t have done it without your help and Lynn’s diaries!!” He hugged him. “Thank you thank you thank you!!” He was so happy. So relieved. At last, he could enjoy all the effort he put into it.

His dad had a hard time, probable trying to keep up with his fast speech. Then he finally hugged him back, stronger than before, laughing happily.

“You did it! I’m so happy for you, Jason!”

“Ahah, thanks… but…” Jay let go, serious. “Why you lied to me? You and mom did get married, and not only that! You got divorced…” It felt so heavy saying it out loud.

Cliff looked surprised.

“Where did you hear that?”

“It’s a long story. You have time?”

“All you need.”

The sat on the sofa. Weird, the first time he found it extremely hard to feel at ease. Now he could almost think of another home. Just another one. Jay took a long breath.

“It starts with this.” He gave him the photo. “I guess she wanted to give it to me.”

Cliff smiled sadly. He gave it back.

“Then you have to keep it. Jason, I…” He hesitated. “… had a hard time baring the void. The truth is, I loved her and I still do. But many things changed, in mine and her life. Unfortunately, we are not like people that can successfully take care of everything. Work. Love. Family… I guess you were just one of the burdens that oppressed her…” He gulped. “Oh, Jason, sorry! Forget what I said, I actually know nothing about her motivations.”

Jay smiled.

“The past is the past, as sensei Wu likes to say. But no more secrets from now on, okay? Well, I think I need to tell you how I got the real potential!”

“Before that, since we don’t have secrets, there’s a hidden room that can’t wait to be found.”

Jay jumped on his feet, ecstatic. He forgot about that room.

“Can I try to find it??” Without even waiting for an answer he started to look around. He felt like searching all the house for it, his energy was at its top. Like when he was young, finally in the house that in another life would had been his playground.

He tried behind the statue, under the carpet, and around the framed pictured. Then he looked at the shelves. There were so many trophies! Best actor, for sure. A little dusty, maybe he wasn’t good with cleaning as much as a master of spinjitzu. He took one by on all the golden prizes, so excited a few fell on the ground. When he moved the last one, the giant poster of Fritz Donegan nearby opened revealing a secret room.

He was so excited he could barely stand.

Cliff giggled, picking up the fallen trophies.

“Do you want to take a look?-.

“You have to ask??” Jay sneaked inside, immediately amazed. “You costumes! That is from the fourth season! That is from the Indiana Jones special! Ah, that is from the fantasy remix! Such a downfall for the serie!” He was enchanted by that place.”-I love secret rooms! I love _this_ room! Wow, is that my old ninja suit? You have a replica of it! Awesome! You’re a fan of me as much as I am of you!” He turned his back at him. “Can you imagine how great it would be if I wore one of your costume and you tried one…!”

_His last mistake _.

He stopped talking. His temple bumped on the floor. His head hurt. Did he just fall? The room doubled. His migraine was back. He couldn’t focus. His eyes were misty. He could only see a couple of feet in front of him.

The trophy that hit him fell nearby.

“I’m sorry, Jason, I really am. This is why you better not be awake while I prepare everything. You can rest. You did great, son, you brought me exactly what I needed.” He lowered at his height, smiling. “Thanks.” It was the sickest expression Jay had ever saw.

He left him alone.

Jay could hear his heartbeat in his ears. His breath was getting erratic. He couldn’t get up, his head was hurting madly. He didn’t understand what was going on. He was scared. Of his dad? No, there was no reason. But it felt wrong.

He put his hand on his receiver. Call the others? No. No, there was surely an explanation for this. His mind was screaming that conviction. That didn’t stop his body, but his shaking fingers couldn’t put the right numbers. He pushed something, a voice emerged.

“-Jay, I’m Borg. I wanted to call you, but I guess you had your ninja things to do. I’ll leave a quick message, but please contact me as soon as you can. Apparently, the result told us that… it’s not you, but it’s similar to your biology. So maybe it’s a parent of yours. We tried with your parents, but they didn’t correspond at all for some reason. We couldn’t tell more, because the rest of the scene it’s undecipherable. Maybe he isn’t from Ninjago City. But we managed to get more information from the picture. I’ll let you decide if you want to tell the others about it, since it might be someone close to you. And I’ll send the focused image. If you know something, contact us. Borg, out.-”

Something appeared on his little screen.

The master of lightning held a hiccup. He shook his head. His eyes started to burn. This couldn’t happen. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

It was a ring, around his neck. _Their_ ring.

“You waited for me? What a good son you are.” Cliff grabbed his hair. “Now you’re gonna take a nap, while daddy take care of the rest. Leave everything to me and don’t worry, okay?” There was madness in his eyes. “I said, okay??” His grasp tightened.

Jay shivered in fear.

“D-dad…”

“Okay, Jason?!?” Cliff pulled his hair, until the blue ninja weakly nodded. “Good boy. Now rest, you earn it. I love you.” He pressed a cloth on his nose and mouth.

Jay tried to break free. He was shaking. He was confused. That cloth had a weird smell. His father was terrifying. Why didn’t he call the others? Why didn’t he come back with them? His body wasn’t responding anymore. His mind was turning off, it was abandoning him.

Every part of him gave up. His eyelids were heavy.

His father was still smiling.

Jay gasped for air.

“Help…”

Then, the _void_. Black and cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, that happened! Hopefully you don't think I'm over with surprises, I'm ready to release the BEAST ^ ^  
> I'll give a shoutout at whoever catch the moment where I kinda make a reference to another Lego show. It's not super evident, but I think who watches it might be able to understand!
> 
> So, I completely gave up on making sense with the timeline, because if the show doesn't then why should I? ^^" I just wanna make it clear that Misako and Lynn were friends way before the first serpentine war, way before the Alliance of the Elements and all that junk. Then stuff happens, but that's another story ;)
> 
> To be honest I mostlu based the Floating Ruins on Shadow of Ronin, because in the pilot we literally saw just a montage of it and in the game that level is super cool! But it doesn't rain on it, at least in this chapter. Not like I didn't have a better excuse since Cole can't touch water, nooo, why would you think that? ^^"
> 
> Hope you liked the chapter! The next one will be a never ending angst, I'm warning you! Might be why is one of my favorite, mm... And I guess the ship is getting clearer <3  
> Leave a note or a comment if you want! And good luck for the last episode of season 10!  
> (I'M TERRIFIED BUT AT THE SAME TIME CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MY FLAME BABE AS A BLACKSMITH AGAIN)
> 
> See ya!! Byee!!
> 
> P.S. As usual, tell me about possible errors all over the chapter, I'll correct them asap! ^ ^


	7. Day Seven: "Did I scare the Mighty Cole?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this chapter is full of angst. Like REALLY full of it, as you probably figured from the last one ^^"  
> Again, some parts come from my personal headcanon, mostly because if they don't tell us something in the show for me it simply doesn't exist. So yeah, I had fun :3  
> Enjoy!! ^ ^

He was engulfed by darkness. No way to tell where he was or how he fell asleep. His body was shaking in his sleep, his heart was beating painfully fast against his chest. His sweat was cold, tracing his skin in drop on his jugular. A hiccup stopped his breathing, and under the eyelids he could feel his consciousness coming back. His right shoulder blade was feeling a cold breeze, right where the symbol of the real potential was. The darkness became purple, someone just turned the light on. Jay couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes, he knew that what was waiting could destroy him.

He clenched his fists. Rumors of chains, pain over his shoulders. His eyes opened on their own.

Borg Tower. Thinking of how excited he was the first time he came to that place made him think of a different, happier place. He was chained on a wall, arms raised, while a couple of chimeras were wandering in the room with a lost look in their faces.

Cliff was there. His eyes were fixed on him, a mad glint in them.

“I didn’t pay attention before. But the lightning looks really good on you. Like it’s been made just for your persona. It suits you, Jason. It really does.”

Jay felt the urge to cry. The slap of sadness. Not like this. He couldn’t bare it.

“Dad, what’s going on? Please tell me!!”

Cliff gave him a curious look, like he wasn’t sure what was the blue ninja talking about. He got closer, pushing a chimera out of his way like it was garbage.

“The truth? It’s a little complicated, and I had a hard time decipher my feelings myself. To put things simply, one day I woke up, and apparently, I needed power. Truth to be told, I can hardly remember what came before this strong urge… and I gotta say, I care little about it. All I can tell is, I want the elements. So, yours as well. Which is not an unreasonable demand if you think about it. You’re my son. Ergo, it’s already mine.”

The master of lightning was shaking. His shoulders hurt terribly, being stuck in that position for who knew how long. He didn’t care.

“You want the lightning…?”

“Who wouldn’t?” His father snorted, spinning around like a child. “Especially by looking how you use it, it’s amazing! You’re so talented and energetic, it’s obvious that people want to get it! I’m not even the first, am I? What was the name? Chen?”

Jay paled. The comparison made him feel sick.

“No… please, no…”

“But he was insatiable, didn’t know when to stop. Turning into Anacondrai? Seriously? He had a stuff full of elements, and he decided to give up all that for being a pathetic reptile that even got defeated?” Cliff shook his head. “Good plans need to be accomplished with simplicity and patience. And I waited, I waited for the lightning to be unlocked in its true form. The real potential truly is a great resource, something you discovered. You did great, son.-. He smiled. He was mad.

So mad.

The blue ninja felt his breathing accelerating. He shook his head. It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t make sense. Everything was too surreal.

“You didn’t know I was gonna come back to you! It’s impossible!”

“Oh, Jason, haven’t you seen the little shrine I made for you? I took notice of everything, all of your achievements, it didn’t matter when you were going to show up! The true potential, the powers without the golden weapon, spinjitzu, airjitzu! But never close enough. The real potential, this is your greatest step! I’m so proud of you!” He laughed. The air in the room got colder.

Jay swallowed to prevent himself to cry.

“S-so… you’re the one behind the chimeras!”

Cliff hummed, looking at them, still wandering around like soulless being.

“To be honest, not exactly. Someone gave them to me a few weeks ago. They do what I want, but I really have no idea where they come from.” He made a disgusted face. “Or why they are so hideous. It doesn’t matter. They are powerful though. And useful as well.”

Jay felt his fists tremble. Powerlessness, fear, anger, despair. Everything.

“Wait… wait! I wanted to find the real potential because my powers were getting weaker! You didn’t know that! You couldn’t have known that!” He thought about Cole’s dad, the attack. All those troubles, all that pain for his best friend.

His father gave him a boring look. It was the first time he didn’t look ecstatic to see him. He kneeled in front of him and put a hand on his chest. Jay tensed in fear. His father opened his gi. Jay’s blood turned cold then the hand slipped inside.

Then, it came out with a handkerchief. Lynn’s photo fell on the ground.

“I genuinely thought you were smarter than this, Jason. You really never thought I was a little off? Not even when that meddler of the master of earth adopted such a bashful behavior towards me?” Cliff showed him the tissue, from this close it looked like it was made of thousands of minuscules squares sewed together. “You know, this cloth is kind of special. I bought it from a merchant, one of the newest one. Really interesting stuff, vengestone items included. I studied something about it, remember the chains Chen used for trapping his competitors?”

Jay widened his eyes. The tears couldn’t be stop know. Ronin talked about it. It made sense. It was awful, and yet it made sense.

“I-it can’t be…”

“You had it under your gi for how much, five days? In this quantity it’s not enough to enable all the power, but sure it weakened it!” Cliff laughed. “You kinda caught me off guard when you complained about your powers so freely. It was the plan, but I never would’ve thought you were going to keep an item given from someone you just met this close to the heart. The effect got even amplificated! You’re so sentimental, Jason.”

The blue ninja couldn’t stop sobbing. He was cold, scared. Cliff was telling the truth but believing was terrible. He closed his eyes, praying it was just a horrible nightmare. Darkness.

Light. Cliff was near a machine. There was a big cage made of glass, connected by wires to a panel with a spot big enough to contain a person. There was a monitor connected, and everything was refined with golden bands and pointy decorations.

That thing was screaming Overlord.

Jay swallowed. In his mind, his stupidly quick mind, a horrible scenario was getting together.

“That thing…?”

His dad gave him a smile. He snapped his fingers, and three chimeras gulped.

“Take my son to his new room.”

The chimeras got closer, roaring around the prisoner. They hit the chains without rationality with their claws until they broke. Jay feel forward. He couldn’t feel his arms. The chimeras grabbed him with their tentacles, pushing him towards the cage. Jay tried to break free, kicking, trying to use spinjitzu or his element. But he was too weak, and the chain were made of vengestone. It was unfair. He screamed, rotating and hitting one of the creatures with a kick. The chimera roared, so loud Jay felt his ears whistling. He got hit whipped and pushed inside the cage.

Cliff closed it, giving him an affectionate smile.

The blue ninja felt his stomach contorting. He hit the glass, feeling the blood circulating again. No use. He was too weak to free himself on his own.

Useless once again. Despair filled him, so he hit again.

“Dad, please! I’m the master of lightning, stealing powers is against nature! You know how Chen ended up, it’s against Ninjago itself! This is not right!” His punches made the cage resonating. “Please, you’re still in time! I’m your son!!” It was like screaming in an empty space. His father was looking at him, giving him his full attention. Yet, his eyes were emotionless. Nothing was shaking them. Did he ever listen to him? Just how good was he at acting?

He was in front of a console, enthusiastic, while looking at his plan getting together. So happy. Like a kid. Inside the body of a man who lost his mind.

“You know how the Overlord tried to steal the golden power from the green ninja, to becoming real from his digital form? Such a commendable work. Well, the scene will be similar, but I won’t be connected to this. It’s safer, we don’t want me to explode for getting overcharged, now do we?” He snapped his fingers again.

Two chimeras dragged a closed suitcase made of metal and connected it to the console.

Jay punched the glass. Nothing. Weak. So weak.

“Dad, please, don’t do this.”

Again, Cliff smiled. Like he was having the time of his life watching him suffering.

“I know the green ninja didn’t suffer. It was more like a slow decreasing of his strength that made him more and more tired. Alas, my project is not that perfect.”

The blue ninja widened his eyes.

“W-what does that mean?”

The chimera left the room in hurry, roaring lowly. His father didn’t answer, he was completely at ease. He put his hand on a level and pulled it down.

The pain came all together, filling his mind to the point Jay couldn’t hear his own screams.

It felt like his lightning was getting ripped off from him with his skin. His blood was boiling in his veins. He wanted to vomit. Everything inside was rejecting him. He couldn’t grab a thing, only lean against the glass, punching it weakly. His mind was empty. His voice was out of control, distorted in a way he did not recognize himself.

Everything was black. He didn’t know if he had his eyes closed or the pain blinded him. Or the tears. He couldn’t stop crying either. Jay was sobbing. Again, he heard a level being pulled down. The machine made an awful sound. Suddenly, the burning increased and he screamed until his throat got soared. He couldn’t even swallow anymore.

"Please… s-stop…"

And that burst did stop. After that, the suffering was almost bearable.

At least he wasn’t screaming anymore. But more tears came.

He was alone, stuck on his knees, his legs completely useless. The energy that was pulsing inside him was slowly fading. His electricity, as much as his own energy, was leaving him. He thought about Lloyd, how he handled the situation alone, as brave and strong as always. Jay wasn’t the green ninja. His power had more limits.

How long until it left him completely?

Jay clenched his fists. He could barely do that.

"Posi... positive think... ing..."

The others were on their way. For sure. They didn’t know what happened, but that never mattered! Maybe he being naïve again, the same attitude that put him in danger in the first place. But he knew, at least one of them could hear him. Just a feeling, a sense of uneasiness. His brothers. His team. They were coming for him, he knew it.

He needed to believe that. Repeating it until he felt sick, while his left eyes started to tic. Believing. Hoping. His last resort. If only his throat didn’t hurt so much, he would had gone back to screaming. His right shoulder blade was burning. The mark was disappearing. The real potential was fading too.

Jay closed his eyes. Hoping. Praying.

Positive thinking. Positive thinking. Positive thinking.

It hurt so much.

“ _What do you mean he didn’t come back?_ ”

“ _I cannot find the signal of his receiver._ ”

The tears were burning too.

“ _Why is Mr. Gordon not answering? What happened to them??_ ”

“ _I had another vision, we have to go now, or else…!_ ”

He wanted to go home so bad.

“ _I am not going to lose him! I can’t. I_ won’t.”

… they weren’t coming.

The machine was draining everything from him. His father was going nuts. He was in pain, breathing frantically. And they weren’t coming. They weren’t there to help him. Why there weren’t here with him, while he was suffering? He needed them, all of them! Kai’s determination. Lloyd’s strength. Zane’s support. Nya’s resourcefulness. Sensei’s wisdom. Misako’s kindness.

_Cole _. Jay wanted him on his side so badly.

He screamed again. The mark was pulsing horribly. His skin was burning.

He thought about his life, his decisions. His brothers, his parents, his mom. The real one.

And cried more.

… Jay knew he was going crazy.

Because they were there, looking at him, one at the time, just how he hoped for. But they weren’t real. Because the ninja weren’t there to free him. Just to stare at him with contempt, like it was all his fault. Like he deserved all of it.

The blue ninja was starting to believe it.

Kai always scared him a little, it was a fact he accepted since he became part of the team. He was a great friend, a little too prideful but so incredibly caring. Simply the blue ninja wasn’t completely comfortable around him sometimes. Because he was really menacing, with the marked face and the fire in his hands. Ever since he started to go out with Nya he feared his judgement. When they got closer, as teammates and brothers, he understood that making him mad was not a good idea.

That master of fire in front of him, on the other side of the cage, that was not Kai. Because unlike him, the fury in his eyes was silent like a mute storm.

“Good riddance. I’m sure you already knew I could hardly tolerate your presence before. At least this will teach you to watch your back. For a joke like you, it’s a lesson I’m surprised you haven’t learned by now.” No smirk of amusement. No twitch on his face to let him just hope that it was all just a really bad played game.

Jay shook his head, scratching the glass because he was in no condition to do anything more.

“Kai… please, h-help me, plea-”

“Shut up for once!! I’m not gonna tolerate your annoying blabber one second more. And it looks like I won’t have to.” The red ninja gave him his back. “We don’t need weakling in our team. If the machine will make you disappear, let it happen. It would be a huge relief.” He walked away, as silently as he appeared.

Jay sobbed, too tired to talk.

“Don’t leave… me…”

Lloyd was a wild card. He was supposed to be a kid, but he was pretty much the most mature of all of them. He used to be their pupil, but he was the most powerful ninja of all Ninjago. Sometimes it was hard approaching him. Sometimes it was so natural it made him laugh. The way the green ninja saw things was unlike everybody else, but there were times when no one in this team could understand him better than the blond.

Right now, he was looking at the blue ninja with the same evil grin as his infamous father.

“Ironic, don’t you think? The character you admired so much is taking everything from you. You gave him all of your admiration, and he used it to destroy you. But it’s only fair. After all, you were only excited to have Fritz Donegan as you father, right?”

Jay swallowed, feeling needles down his throat.

“It’s not… it’s not true!”

“Please, if he wasn’t such a wonderful figure for you, you would had ignored him from the start. Because it’s what you do. When someone makes a mistake, they are dead to you. You divided the team once, remember? This is why you’re alone now.” His eyes were accusing him of everything. Of pushing away a teammate. Of leaving the team to crumble. Of ignoring every possible way of redemption until an underground fight forced him to.

The blue ninja leaned his forehead on the glass, feeling empty.

“I’m so sorry.” He could barely feel the tears streaming anymore.

Lloyd shrugged, looking bored like a kid who didn’t find this game funny anymore.

“Not like acknowledging what kind of person you are will save you.” The green ninja started to fade. “And I won’t either.”

Zane was a robot, another obvious fact. On one side, he was the most interesting being he had ever met. On the other of course he couldn’t ignore the fact the he was, in fact, inhuman. Sometimes, while hanging out with them like the silly and reckless teens that they were, it was hard to remember his body was artificial. Sometimes instead, during a meaningful mission or whenever the nindroid asked for help during manutention, it was so obvious Jay felt his inside turning cold. Because his brother’s soul was in there, and yet he couldn’t understand him.

His eyes were red like a corrupted droid. It wasn’t him. Jay could at least understand that. But his heart for aching like mad.

“Your presence was unnecessary from the very beginning.” His voice was unbelievably cold. “Your cancellation from the team was just a matter of time. This method, as unorthodox as it seems, it goes along my parameters. And my opinion on you. Your knowledge is not up to the needed. Your efforts into giving support are not welcomed. Every useless part must be eliminated. It’s reality. It’s life.” He walked away.

The blue ninja was gasping for air, his lungs were burning.

“I am… needed… I am!!” Positive thinking. Positive… thinking.

Even if all he could see was his team going on without him.

Nya simply terrified him. Not matter how much time he had spent admiring her beauty and strength, not matter how much she had changed his life in many unexpectedly pleasant ways, she was simply scary. Because she was a genius, as well as a warrior basically unstoppable. They had the same passion for engineering, but she was so much superior, to the point it looked like two different marks. They were both martial arts experts, but she was a pro. She was stronger, more determinate, smarter and more charismatic than him. Nya helped him becoming a better person, because Jay could only hope to get even a little closer to her pedestal.

Her greatness was cowing, in this moment more than ever before. She was in her samurai suit, helmet under her arm, looking like the mysterious hero that had saved them many times before.

“You really thought I ever had feelings for you? Please, take a look at yourself! You can’t even stand on your feet! I can’t believe I even let you near me. Ridiculous. Impossible. But it doesn’t really matter, your power will disappear. It means that the master of lightning will be gone as well. We won’t have a reason to have you in the team. Finally.” She smiled with satisfaction.

Jay pushed himself against the cage. His skin was still pulsing.

“N-Nya, don’t go! Don’t leave me here, please!”

“Does it really change a thing? You’re the expert at abandoning friends, after all.” She disappeared.

The blue ninja screamed of pain and despair, punching the cage again and again with all the strength he had left. His knuckles were screaming.

He needed to get out of there. Now.

Wu was their great master, _the_ sensei. It wasn’t his righteousness that gave him the chills, that old man could be a serious party-pooper as much as a goofy dancer and funny old man in general. That he was used to. It was his figure. The good son of the first Spinjitzu Master. The sibling that saw his brother being banished into the Underworld. The one that choose the protectors of the realm he guarded himself during his many years as a hero. Maybe it was the sense of responsibility he gave to Jay that was scary.

… no. That wasn’t right. It was his judgment.

And right now it was in his eyes. Disappointment. Anger. Disgust.

“I shouldn’t have chosen you.”

He disappeared like that, without saying anything else. He didn’t have to.

Jay felt his chest breaking in half. He was seeing the moment he felt so special, so meaningful, disintegrate. He opened his mouth to talk. To say something, blabber over how horrible the situation was. A death rattle came out.

His master was gone.

The blue ninja knew Misako wasn’t such a strong influence in his life. She was a kind woman, his little bro’s mom, and in general a calming presence on the Bounty. Instead, he knew who she was bringing with her. Why she was here.

Right behind Lord Garmadon’s wife, was Lynn. Silent, with an unreadable expression. Like a mere presence.

Misako gave him all the despise she had, for both of them.

“Do you realize what’s in your blood? Your father is mad, your mother is a liar. This should be the end of you all! But you will pay for them. You know why? Because it’s destiny. They are your real parents. You’ll end up just like them. If you don’t like the idea, you should stop struggling and let yourself go. It’s my only advice.” She left on her own.

Lynn was still, beautiful and ethereal like a fairy.

Jay punched harder the glass. It was slippery. Blood was tripping over his knuckles.

“Mom…!!”

Lynn gave him a plain look. She shook her head.

She left, leaving the sobs of her son behind.

Distant quakes were shaking his mind, hurt and confused. His body was almost an empty shell. Jay couldn’t tell if it was his imagination, or reality was trying to bring him to his senses. He was too lost anyway. He tried to concentrate on those sounds, closing his eyes, escape from that prison. But it was all in his mind. It was like having his eyes wide open.

His brain couldn’t switch off just because he wanted to.

So he waited, clenching his fists. Seeing the blood dripping on the glass.

Only one person left.

Cole was the most comforting person he knew… and the most terrifying one at the same time. And the reason for that was deep into him, where no one, not even himself could look. The black ninja wasn’t particularly scary looking, really; he wasn’t apathic, he didn’t have such an unusual past behind him and in a matter of strength, his manpower was so characteristic of him it wasn’t even something to be jealous about. He was powerful, brave, kind, altruistic, smart and understanding, the perfect companion. Maybe a little silly sometimes, a little too serious some other times, but it was him.

So _beautifully_ him.

Everybody would had wanted to be his friend.

And Jay, after all the time passed together, after all the hate, the distance, the hard time trying to be close again, couldn’t understand why. Why Cole was still his friend? Why, when Jay was himself?

So _horribly_ himself.

That was scary, no, horrifying for him. The room was colder now.

The master of earth was looking at him. Jay felt his breathing accelerating. Once again they were far away from each other. He didn’t want this.

“Go away… go away! I don’t wanna hear you!” He put his hands on his ears.

Cole raised an eyebrow, dead serious.

“Why?”

“You’re my best friend! Why aren’t you helping me??”

He smirked. And it was over.

“Me, your friend? You know yourself, deep down, that it’s not true. That I could never be close to someone as despicable as you are. You’re a horrible friend, you’re arrogant, jealous and prickly. Maybe we got separated because of a girl, but it was just an excuse! Because it’s enough you being you to make me want to leave this instant!”

The blue ninja cried, shaking his head, grabbing his own hair strongly and probably leaving some red spots behind.

“You… w-would never… say this…!”

The black ninja gave him a glare.

“You’re right. This just prove how much you disgust me, to the point I can’t help myself. But maybe you don’t believe it, even after we left you here on purpose! So, let me ask you Zaptrap, who decided to throw away our friendship because of a girl?”

Jay lowered his head. That was it.

“Me.”

“Who decided it was better leave the team than face the situation, even if you knew without Zane and our connection everything was going to fail?”

“M-me.”

“Tell me, who.” Cole got closer, in all his ghostly form. "Who killed me, Jay?”

“W-what??” The blue ninja widened his eyes. He let his arms fall weakly on his sides. Too deep in his heart. Something he was so afraid to bring out he hid from himself as well.

The future of his best friend.

“You guys left me behind in Yang’s Haunted Temple. But there was someone, tied up right in front of me, that didn’t even realize I was gone, too busy saving himself instead! And this is what happened because of your mistake!” Cole punched that glass. “You didn’t think twice, did you? You left me, as you did before! You haven’t change at all!” His figure was so menacing it couldn’t be recognized. But it was him. So him.

Jay felt his chest splitting in halp, he wanted to scream but he didn’t want to crumble once and for all. Not on him. He clenched his fingers around the cloth over his heart.

“Stop.”

“Who killed me, Jay?”

“Stop!”

“Who doomed me, since I couldn’t see my reflection in the Tomb?”

“Stop, please!! I’m sorry!! I’m so sorry!!”

“You really think that’s enough? You’re a disappointment, an awful friend! You don’t deserve me. And because of you, I’m doomed.-. Cole gave him one, last glare. And then he disappeared. In his mind, forever.

Jay felt himself falling. He wanted to let go. It was too much. His mind was playing with his psyche. Pushing him to the limit. To quit, finally. Letting the man that generated him take what he wanted. He couldn’t bare anything more.

… but he couldn’t give up. He just couldn’t help it, it was out of his control. Jay closed his eyes, hearing his friends’ words over and over again. Hoping the pain wasn’t going to last forever.

Praying that what he saw really was just madness.

… was he screaming unconsciously again?

He could swear he heard something.

“… y!!”

No, it wasn’t his voice. It was further, but not by much. Powerful, and a little faded, like it had its own echo. Maybe he heard wrong.

His mind was so light right now.

“… ay!!”

He wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t a fantasy. But it was outside. His eyes were closed. He didn’t want to see other bad things. Finally, he could rest a little. If it was important then the voice was going to be back again, after a little nap. His breath was still frantic. But at least he was alive.

“… ay!! Jay!!”

His name. It was calling his name.

The blue ninja realized the quakes were closer, more powerful. Or just nearby. They were shaking his body, still in contact with the glass. His mind was waking up from his numbness. So close.

Like something was bumping against the cage.

… he really didn’t want to open his eyes. Suffering again.

“Come on, Zaptrap, open your eyes!!”

But he couldn’t deny Cole a little favor.

Jay slowly opened his eyelids. His vision was blurry, but only because his face was right on the glass. And there he was. Fists pressed on the other side, his eyes wide and scared. But as soon as they crossed his, a smile of relief moved his face.

He came for him. He really did.

The master of earth took a little running start, charging with his right punch. The glass fell immediately. The sound woke Jay’s mind from its torpor. But his arm wasn’t responding. Legs were unmoving as well. The cage had stopped draining his power, it was spent. But Jay could still feel the halo of that burn, a constant presence all other his skin. It made him shiver.

Cole entered and grabbed him for the shoulders, hands shaking. He dragged him out, making sure Jay didn’t get hurt with the broken glass.

“You’re bleeding! I should’ve come sooner, I’m so sorry! Stay still, don’t push yourself! I’ve got you, Jay!” He looked incredibly tired, but also totally focused. His body was solid, most of it.

Jay could still feel his throat hurting. But he wanted to talk so badly. Everything was overwhelming, his strength, his gentleness, the way he said his name. No hate, no despise, just genuine concern and affection. Cole was real. So real.

Jay grabbed his gi, holding it with all his remaining strength.

“A-are we still friends? We are best friends, r-right?! The tears came back. It surprised him that he still could cry. He melted in those warm drops, sobbing without control.

Cole gave him a surprised look. Then, he hugged him.

“You dummy, of course we are! You really think me and the others went straight in a fight against a bunch of chimeras because we despite you?” He tightened his hold. “When we got the message we didn’t know what to do! We were going crazy! Thanks to the first Spinjitzu Master you’re really here. I’m so glad you’re safe, Jay.” It seemed that he too needed a confirmation. He was warm today, nothing of his usual cold ghostly form was left. It was just care.

Jay choked the last sobs against the others’ shoulder, careful to not let those darn tears hitting him. He was so real it made him wanna cry even more, but there was no time for that.

“… you got a message?”

Cole let him go, nodding weakly. He gave him a sad look.

“I never thought he would…”

“That makes the two of us.” Jay made a bitter smile. “You were right, I was naïve. I trusted him too much too early. You have such an incredible instinct, how do you do that?” He wanted to go back to his tendency to defuse. Because he felt so heavy he feared he couldn’t get up.

Cole shook his head.

“You’re not to blame if you decided to trust your father.” He put Jay’s arm around his neck, helping him to get up. “Come on, we’re leaving. The others are distracting the chimeras, we should have enough time.” His body was completely solid. He never focused this much before.

Jay used him as support. Slowly he was gaining sensibility again. He breathed. His body still pinched, here and there, but he was okay. He was safe. Everything was okay.

Then, it hit him. He looked at his suit.

The deepstone suit. No sight of the lightning one.

“… he took it. He took the lightning. I don’t have my powers anymore!”

The black ninja widened his eyes.

In that moment the elevator opened. The fury of a storm came in, a figure completely ingulfed into lightnings. Cliff had unblinking eyes and a constant smile of satisfaction on his face. But all other his body there were burning marks, and his clothes had been destroyed.

He raised his eyes. He looked mildly upset.

“Not good, you were the bait, Jason. How am I supposed to convince the master of earth, that already doesn’t appreciate my persona, to give up his element? Things got complicated, that’s unfortunate.” He gave his son an affectionate smile. “But it’s not your fault, I kinda opted for a fragile cage. I just figured you weren’t going to get out. Such a flawless idea, since you had one heavy lifter in your team! I’m not doing a very good job as a villain, now am I?-. He snickered. Then laughed. So loud, turning around while the lightnings danced without control.

Jay bit his lip. He was so different from the person he met a week ago.

“That power is not yours!” Cole took out his scythe. “You had no right to take it, and sure thing you have no right to keep it! You better give it back, Gordon!” He was already in position, anchored to the ground. His eyes were dark and fixed on his opponent.

Cliff gave him a perplex look. A superior one.

“Hopefully you don’t have just pebbles to throw at me.” He extended his hands on his side. Immediately two whips made of thunders appeared, sparkling and charged.

So strong.

Jay shivered. That was his power indeed. He never got weaker, that was what his element was capable of. No, even more, after unlocking the real potential. If that was only part of it…

He grabbed Cole’s shoulder.

“Don’t face him.”

The master of earth looked at him.

“Look, I know it’s your dad, but…”

“This is not a training against me, he really wants to hurt you! I couldn’t bare it. Not with my element. Not you… not again.” Jay clenched his fist around the black gi. “I don’t want you to get hurt.-. His hold didn’t last long. He was awake only for the adrenaline. Why? After battling his best friend at the tournament, why destiny forced the lightning against the earth once again?

Cole seemed conflicted. He sighed.

“I understand. Really.” He pushed gently Jay behind him. “But it’s the same for me.”

There was no time to protest. As soon as an electrical whip went for them, a rock wall appeared in between. There was a thumb, one after the other. The barrier was accusing the hits, crumbling piece after piece. The black ninja raised a hand to create a second wall, but everything got destroyed before him. A sudden thunder made him step back.

Cliff shouted as well. A lightning had escaped his control and zapped him in the face. Now there was a burn on his cheek, between the others. But he was still smiling.

“A man can survive an earthquake. A man can survive an avalanche. A man can survive after being set on fire. Of course, you can survive a fulmination as well, if the voltage is low. But I just need the perfect hit, strong enough, in the head or in the heart… and it’s over.” He laughed. “Even with all your training, if your opponent is too fast for you, you can’t hit him. After a few minutes I’ll get used to this power. I read too much to not know how to do it.”

Lynn’s diaries. Jay widened his eyes. He knew about the real potential before starting to read. He knew that the symbol of the void was blue, he definitely knew about the complement too. He read all of it way before and tricked him just in order to look caring.

He couldn’t believe he didn’t notice the signals before.

Cole glared at him.

“Read? You think that will be enough?”

“Let’s find out, shall we?”

Jay felt dragged away. The lightning missed him for an inch. Cole’s strong arms were holding him close, the master of earth had grabbed him and jumped as soon as he had seen the attack. He felt so solid they both forgot he was a ghost. He wasn’t hesitating. He wasn’t scared. He got up, picked his weapon from the floor and charged, angry, his eyes so focused they weren’t blinking.

Cliff laughed madly, throwing as many lightnings as he could create. He looked ecstatic by the easiness of his power. No hesitation. Not even when Cole dodged them all, like he trained for this exact moment. Zigzagging like when they were practicing, without putting his eyes away from the target, he started to create a rock over his head. It was getting bigger and bigger, but the black ninja wasn’t affected by it, still running fast and light.

Then he threw it. Cliff snickered and destroyed it. But the stone crumbled turning into a fall of sand, that threw him off making him lose focus. The lightning whips disappeared. Just a second of distraction. For a ninja, a lifetime.

The master of earth pointed his weapon on the other’s throat, glaring at him.

“You need at least ten years to get on our level, grandpa.”

Cliff clenched his teeth.

“How dare you…”

“How I dare? You’re the one that took something that doesn’t belong to you. And you made the unforgivable mistake to take it from my best friend. So you better give it back, or face the consequences. You should have half of an idea what I’m capable of.” Cole was serious. Dead serious. His voice was low and menacing.

But Cliff huffed.

“You would really hurt me? The protector of this realm, killing a citizen?” He looked pleased by the look of indecision in the master of earth’s eyes. “But you’re are not mistaken, I’m not an opponent worthy of your skills. So, maybe, we should make it even? I’m pretty sure fairness is something you love.” He snapped his fingers.

The door was crashed, one after the other chimeras irrupted, roaring madly.

Jay gulped and got in position, back against Cole’s. He felt the tension surrounding him, like the air was going to slow every movement. It wasn’t the first time he was without powers. Darn it, it was like a recurrent gag lately! But he never felt weaker.

His father was looking at them like they were meaningless. He wanted to be angry so much, to feel frustration and rage towards that man. Instead, he was on the verge of crying again.

Cole exhalated nervously, leaning towards him.

“If we have company, it means the others should have less to worry about so they won’t take long. We need to resist until they arrive!” In his eyes there was still deep concern. “Think you can fight?”

Jay swallowed. One of the chimeras threw a claw at him, but he dodged, kicking the tentacle back so it hit the chimera instead. His body was working better, the numbness was fading away.

Smiling he nodded.

“I’ll manage.” Jay faced one part of the chimeras, Cole’s the other. They had each other’s back, like they had eyes on the back of their head. Jay wasn’t at his best conditions. But as soon as the creatures attacked, he immediately got to action. It wasn’t something new after all, battling even if every part of his body was tired and hurt. It was part of the job. He was unarmed and the chimeras were strong.

He had faced way, _way_ worse.

“Ninja-go!” His tornado was white. Not light blue like Zane’s, it was completely colorless. He could almost see through it. The chimeras got quashed anyway.

They immediately got up though. It was like fighting against the Anacondrai army of Chen, they were too resistant for them. Even worse, they were clearly citizens of Ninjago, those ripped off clothes and barely human faces. Every will to hurt them was inexistent. They were ninja, meant to protect them.

He almost got hit by a lightning. The shock made him shiver, his immunity was gone.

Cliff gave him a soft smile. Any expression on him now was painfully fake.

“Jason, there’s an easy way to stop this, really. Just tell your friend to give me the earth, and I’ll ask my, huh, companions to stop. Nobody will get hurt. Everybody will have exactly what they want. Included you.” He made a step towards him. “You’re still my son, blood of my blood. I won’t leave you behind, I promise.” A tempting hand was extended towards him.

Jay felt sick. It would had been so wrong to choose his side, to agree on something so insane. And yet, he wanted nothing but to be in good terms with him again.

He felt pathetic.

“I can’t. This is not right, dad.”

Cliff’s smile dropped. His eyes were screaming.

“Then you decided to be doomed.” Another lightning, more powerful than before.

Jay widened his eyes. But his senses were up, the decision was taken, and finally his emotions were under control. He raised his elbow, and a shield made of void appeared in front of him. The force of the lightning got him off his feet, and he flew against the wall, near the glass cage. He accused the hit, slowly getting up. He needed to use everything he had left, without his element. At least until the other came as well. They needed to resist.

Cole was using all of his might, fully concentrated, but also quick to change into inconsistent as soon as another hit went against him. Strong and clever as always. Most of the chimeras were concentrated on him, on the other side of the room. While the others were roaring softly at Jay’s position, but without moving an inch further towards him.

Like they were… afraid of him?

Jay frowned. He moved towards them, and after a few feet the closest of the chimera charged. He quickly created another dome, but it broke easily, his body was still recovering. He went backwards, trying to summon a shield, a barrier, anything. Nothing came.

Still, the creatures didn’t move. What could possibly be so scary to the point even those horrendous creatures were on their guards? It was only the cage of glass. And it was broken. A machine, something that made him feel so bad, that gave him a painful slap every time he looked at it. Nothing else.

Maybe he didn’t need an answer. Not now. He just knew they didn’t like it. It was a mechanism, turned off. He touched it, holding back the urge to retract the hand. It was kinda warm. Thinking about it, the chimeras left before it was on.

Was maybe the fact that it was active?

Cole ran towards him. He was visibly tired, he was fighting against something he couldn’t hurt completely.

“You know, I would like to have some backup!”

Jay looked at him straight in the eyes.

“I think I know how to force the chimeras to run away, but I can’t have dad watching, or he’ll might figure out what I have in mind.”

The master of earth was clearly a little lost. He looked at Cliff, who was watching them, charging energy to prepare another attack.

“You want me to keep him busy?”

“For as long as you can. Up to the task?”

“Who are you talking to?” He smirked, then gave him a pat. “Be careful.” The next moment he was launching himself on Cliff.

After that, all the room was full of lightning roars and earthquakes.

Jay breathed out, feeling tired, numb and unfocused. But he had less than his brain to count on, he couldn’t let even that wasted. Most of the computers were in bad shapes, but the main one looked mostly intact. He got to the keyboard and turned on the screen. There was little time and he wasn’t a hacker. But nor was his father, just a kid good at acting. They had the same blood. It didn’t feel good, but he needed to count on that.

A few white codes slid towards the screen, turning into purple and getting faster. Then, a little window with two words. Insert password.

He was speechless. That was it? Cliff was as easygoing as him.

Jay screamed, holding his shoulder. One of the chimera had tried an attack. They were understanding that nothing was going to hurt them. His hand was wet and red. He wanted to use the void, but he was in pain, unfocused, and a few feet from him his best friend and his father fighting. Mentally apologizing to Borg he knocked down one of the already broken screen, using it as a protection. The attacks were erratic, but deep and precise. He was running out of time, the machine was getting colder and without that, the madness of those creatures was going to find a helpless ex-master of lightning with nothing but glass to defend himself. 

He turned on the computer, the black screen lightened up. 

Jay started to breath, faster, like the oxygen wasn’t there, feeling the pression getting heavier, choking him. It was outside his control. Trapped. In cage. In prison. Alone. He brought a hand to his mouth. He closed his eyes, trying to calm down.

Then he looked up. The screen had something different. A little icon, a purple ideogram made to be clicked. Pixal. Of course, she was still into Borg’s system! The fact that she could barely appear was the proof how hard the system had been hit. When his dad had attacked Borg’s tower while Zane was there, he must’ve installed some advanced virus.

But that guy had a password to protect an energy draining machine. That didn’t sound right, but also didn’t look like the right moment to talk about that.

Jay used the other hand to click.

“… ‘legendary soulmate’?”. Was that a hint? If it was, it was very vague, maybe she couldn’t do better in her situation.

Jay tightened his grip on his shoulder. It hurt. The chimeras were getting more and more violent against the screen, it was starting to break. He was scared. He watched the hint, then the space for the password. There needed to be seven letters. Legendary soulmates. He knew nothing about history! Why Pix thought he could resolve that? He wasn’t an archeologist like Misako, he wasn’t a cryptographer like his mother, he wasn’t…!

Wait. His mom and Misako.

The memory made him gulp. The astral realm of the lightning, all those visions. They talked about a cavern, two lovers, from an old fable.

How could that be the answer? How did his father even know?

A sting made his heart ache, his eyes pinched. That’s what she wanted. That’s what they talked about at the phone. Lynn made him propose there. In the cavern, full of magic and light. The place that saw real love.

Ichizu and Tai Sho.

Both six letters. But if Tai Sho had a space…

His hand was shaking, but he forced himself. He tripped a few times, so he was forced to cancel and try again. He heard rumors of cracking. But he was concentrating. Fully concentrating.

When the screen broke, he summoned the void. Then hit enter.

The machine roared, and all the hits stopped. The cage lightened up, but without someone inside and with the broken glass, it just emitted an uncomfortable aura. The chimeras screamed loudly and ran away from the room. Jay got further from that thing, sighing in relief. He took his head in his hands. Warm, but not in an alarming way. He almost hoped the fever was back and he was delirious. A thunder shook him up: it was incredibly loud and strong. Jay never tried to use that much force, not even against Cole who was the most resistant of them. Inhuman. Deadly dangerous.

“Reboot completed. Primary functions restored. Hello, Jay.” Pixal was on the main screen, with a few open windows with running codes.

The blue ninja sighed in relief, smiling for the first time in what felt like ages.

“Pixal, we’re in big troubles!”

“I am aware. I’ll immediately reactivate the defensive nindroids so they can help you.” She looked at him intensely. “I think you should know that while I was offline, someone tried to hack into the system remotely.”

“If you mean Cliff then…”

“No, someone else. And they tried to turn off the mechanism. They didn’t manage, since the only engine activated of the entire building was the drainer, but I think they were trying to help you.”

Jay gulped. Someone tried to help him? And remotely? The only time he saw something like that was when they entered the Digiverse using Zane’s digital abilities. It was too much of a bad signal, combined with a not defined new figure.

He sighed, shaking his head.

“It doesn’t matter right now, go! And tell the others to hurry if you can!”

“Understood. Be careful.” She disappeared, and the screen was black again.

Jay trembled on his feet. The adrenaline was melting away, he felt like letting go and jump into unconsciousness. But something brushed against his ankle. With all the chaos, the attacks and the natural cataclysms nearby, the photo flew to him. Jay kneeled down and grabbed it. It was a little burned on the corners, maybe because of the lightnings.

Jay tightened his fingers around it.

“Are you different from him, or was this the reason why you two were together? Are you even around?” He caressed his mother’s hair. “Huh, why are families so difficult to deal with?” He smiled sadly. It was such a truth in his and all his friends’ lives. Just another reason why their connection came before his bloodline.

A scream of anger echoed through all the room. Jay shivered at that voice, turning back to reality. Cole needed his help. Even if he could only fight physically, with nothing more than a weak void to protect him. It never stopped him before, it wasn’t going to now.

Jay smiled and got up.

He moved to put the photo back under his gi.

_He never got to do that _.

A big light messed up his entire world. Jay was tired, absolutely exhausted. So suddenly his mind was dizzy and blank. His body gave up on him all together, making him fly like there was no gravity. He could hear a weird buzzing in his ears. So light. It hurt. A little. Maybe he was too unsensitive to feel it. It was kinda nice. He felt like breathing, feeling that unusual peace corrupting his lungs. But he moved nothing. He decided he didn’t care.

There was some kind of mist in front of him. He was lied down? Hard to tell. He was comfy, that was for sure. More than he had ever been in his life. He was falling backwards, even if he could clearly feel the floor under his back. Falling. Far away. His vision was fading.

Cole came into his sight. Jay never saw him like this, on the edge of despair. He was crying, screaming without voice, horror making his eyes shaking like the earthquakes he could control. He was shaking something. His body? Jay was still too far away, he couldn’t feel it. All that was left was an annoying heaviness into his heart. He closed his eyes, his best friend’s horrified gaze was gone. It felt better and worse, but it disappeared right after.

It felt like the perfect moment for a nap. He was really tired, he deserved one, right?

He felt a smile coming up, but he found in himself no strength left to make it happen. A nap.

It really sounded like a good idea at the moment.

Like when the Ice passed sacrificing for his family, every single ninja, all the people close felt it.

That painful crack into the chest. Like losing an arm. A piece of heart. Unbearable.

Every one of them felt it annihilating their peace.

Even before the soul-broken scream of master of earth teared up the sky.

_Jay felt all the sweat under his suit making his movements less smooth. But since the first time in that monastery, his resistance had increased greatly. Jump, dodge, hit, backflip. Darn it, he could do backflips now! There was no competition against the boy from the junkyard that entered the first time. He could see the end, and his sensei taking the sugar. He barely had the time to breath. _

_Cole noticed, of course he did, and gave Zane a little elbow. Their new, cold friend, as new as could be someone that joined weeks ago, nodded slightly. He kneeled near the master. _

_“May I offer you some tea, sensei?” Without waiting for the response, he took the teapot and, with such a slow-motion movement that didn’t seem real, he went to pour the drink in the cup. _

_Wu frowned at Cole. _

_“Losing time? I expected something better from you.” _

_“Like trying to get your pressing glare off Jay, who is a bundle of anxiety that walks?” _

_“Hey! Not my fault I’m faster when people don’t look at me!” _

_“Whatever, you just finished in time.” _

_Jay landed in that moment, a little startled. He was fast, another ability he gained from all that training. The fastest there, and yeah, it felt pretty good. _

_He giggled. _

_“Guess it worked.” _

_“Of course it worked, it was my plan!” _

_“Actually, simply reclaiming the possess over a machination does not determine the success of it.” Zane looked at lost eyes. “… but it worked. I’m assuming this is the most important part.” He had his own way to see the world. A little weird. Maybe really weird. But he was a teammate, in one way or another you learn to get used to. _

_Sensei Wu finished his tea and got up. He bumped his stuff on the ground. _

_“Pupils, I am satisfied with your progresses and I think it’s time for you to get to the next level. But before that, I need to tell you something.” _

_Cole raised an eyebrow. _

_“Like why recently we have been forced to train only after the sunset?” _

_Jay nodded. _

_“Or why we can’t enter the training ground in the morning at all?” _

_Zane scratched his chin. _

_“Or why, lately, several bottle of hair gels appeared in our bathroom? Accompanied to a brush that surely does not belong to any of us.” With Zane’s flawless style, Cole’s emo natural look and Jay’s genuine cut, with the fact that he had no one to look nice for, nobody really lost time in front of the mirror. Those items were like mysterious objects from another dimension. _

_The master smiled in a mischievous way. Like he couldn’t wait to see how destiny was going to act regarding them. He moved to the door. _

_“The mission is simple. There’s a person inside the monastery. You’ll have to face them. From this upcoming battle, your future will be decided.” He disappeared inside. _

_Jay blinked. He slowly turned to Cole. _

_“It’s just me or…” _

_“That was definitely a fortune cookie.” _

_“Ah, good! Okay!" He pouted. “Shouldn’t he teach us spinjitzu before facing someone? Sounds a little early, you think it’s early? For me it’s too early…” _

_Zane shook his head. _

_“It’s almost nine o’clock, it’s far for being early.” _

_“Thanks, Zane.” _

_“If he thinks we can, then we can.” Cole clapped once. “Come on team, let’s go change. We’ll meet here. With a good plan, we’ll show sensei how much we improved!” He had a strong spirit and a lot of will, definitely a good combo for a leader. _

_But he was also lucky, he was head of the typical placid type and a not too confident guy. _

_One minute later they were out. To be honest, Jay didn’t like too much the ninja suits. They were all black, identical. He wanted to show himself to others, his differences, his originality. Under that, all that disappeared. He knew they needed to blend in, being essentially walking shadows. But he didn’t like it. _

_And black wasn’t really his color. _

_They suited up quickly. Cole was first, of course. Such a top of the class. _

_“So, while I was changing I went looking for…” _

_“You were walking commando in a monastery?” _

_“Jay, please. I heard some noises from the bathroom, I think our target is in there. If we pass through the scaffolding of the ceiling, we can take him by surprise!” _

_Zane nodded. _

_“Sounds like a simple but thoughtful plan, that will give us the upper hand.” _

_Jay stared at him confused. It wasn’t hard to understand, maybe it was that tone, so zen and over the clouds that threw him off. He thought he was pretty smart, then Zane came. Whatever. _

_“Fine by me, but is anybody concerned about having another stranger?” _

_“Jay…” _

_“I’m serious! It’s getting smaller here, now we’ll be forced to breathe in each other’s face while we’re sleeping! And not for you Zane, you’re basically an unicorn, but the big guy right there has too much of an unbalanced diet to make me feel okay with it!” And another glare from his leader, great. “Don’t look at me like that, you know I’m right!” It was already hard enough to live in a room with three other people after passing a lifetime as an only child. Hard… but gradually nicer. _

_It was nice to have company, after all. _

_Cole rolled his eyes. He jumped on the roof, the other two followed him. _

_“If we complete the mission, will you stop complaining for once?” _

_“Depends on how many turns at Fist to Face III I get.” _

_“Seriously?” Jay kept the stare. “… five?” He nodded satisfied. “You’re so weird, be grateful you’re not that bad as a ninja. Not as good as me, but not bad.” Cole smirked, before putting on the ninja mask. _

_Zane did the same. _

_“I also happen to find your abilities quite acceptable.” _

_Jay huffed loudly, hiding his face as well. _

_“Geez, guys, thanks. Being adequate is what every person wishes to hear. Let’s just go and finish this thing!” He followed his leader and his teammate, frowning under the disguise just for the sake of it. He wasn’t that upset. They were bizarre, and really different from him. Maybe one was morbidly letteral, maybe the other was annoyingly serious, but they were his friends. _

_He had friends. _

__

“It can’t… don’t you…! Please just…! Wake… wake… up! Jay!!”

_He wasn’t cut out for physical activity. At all. There was a reason why, besides the embarrassment, Jay really liked his home. It was a junkyard, yeah, but an extremely provided one. If you knew how to build and fix things, you didn’t need anything else. No useless walks or, worse, runs towards the closest city – that was still far away anyway, thanks for being in the Sea of Sand – to get supplies. Just the essential, old junks putted together with broken screws and charged with slippers rubbed on a carpet. _

_Sweet, sweet home. And he left it for a full free climb towards a never seen before monastery, one of his latest bright ideas. _

_Sensei Wu was giving him a disappointed glare, while climbing like the mountain was plain. _

_“We’ll have a lot of work to do, starting from the basics… or even the basics’ basics.” _

_Jay sighed in frustration, trying to get up with all the strength he had left. He was a sweaty mess. His shirt was one with his skin. _

_“Wu… sensei… whatever it is, can I, huh, ask something?” _

_“Go ahead.” _

_“Why, in the name of the monastery we are looking for that I really hope exist, are we climbing from here when it’s obvious that such a steep climb has a more regular side behind?” The master gave him a surprise look. “What’s that face?! I might be sweaty and out of shape, but I’m not dumb!” Enough to follow a complete stranger just because, but not that much… right? _

_Jay sighed. He really needed to reevaluate himself. _

_Sensei Wu got to the top and hand him the stuff, smiling. _

_“Maybe there is something worth working on.” _

_Jay gave him a skeptical look. Then decided he was way too tired to be bashful. He grabbed the stuff, and Wu pulled him up like he weighted nothing. _

_Finally, the top. And as expected, a long and convenient staircase on the other side. _

_“I feel like I should laugh.” _

_“Come on, let’s get in. There’s a lot to talk about.” _

_“Are there also a lot of showers? I feel like I’m turning into a sausage here.” _

_There were noises from the inside, familiar ones that made him feel less anxious. The door was opened, and the junkyard kid was left mouth-opened. It was a complex system of obstacles and rotating blades, perfectly assembled in a circular ground. Hanging targets fixed on a rotating machine, platforms raising and lowering, pointy spikes shining under the sun. A mechanical wonder. It was almost worth all the trouble. _

_A battle cry distracted him: a black-haired guy was in the middle, doing all the exercises with precision and punching the dummy so hard Jay was convinced he heard that thing wince for the pain. He was focused and serious, forcing a regular breathing. _

_Sensei Wu cleared his voice. The guy distracted turned to him and got hit by a bag, tripping on the ground. The master sighed, getting closer and giving him a hand. _

_“Never let your concentration be taken away, Cole.” _

_The guy, Cole, accepted the help. But he was frowning, from the top of his big eyebrows. _

_“… who is he, sensei?” _

_Jay stirred. Passing the old master, because there was no way he could start his big adventure without the “oh wise one”. But meeting other people outside the junkyard was still weird. And that Cole didn’t look too friendly – not from the haircut, at least. _

_He got closer, extending timidly his hand. _

_“Huh, Jay Walker, nice to meet you! Apparently I wasn’t the only one that followed a creepy old man that came out from nowhere! What a relief!!” Ah, not even two seconds and he was always on the verge of jumping from the steeper side of the mountain. _

_Cole blinked, looking at the sensei. He snickered. _

_With a smile he looked way less menacing. _

_“So it seems.” He shook his hand, wow that was a grip. “I’m Cole. I guess we’re gonna be teammates from now on!” He was studying him. He looked strong enough to move a mountain just by breathing on it. But closer, Jay could see some kind of observative skills. _

_Wu moved to the door again, bumping his stuff on the ground. _

_“We’ll start the training with this new add. Cole, show him how to use the training engine. I need to go out and take care of something.” _

_Cole stared at him. _

_“Sensei, you said the exact same thing this morning and you came back with a new pupil. Isn’t this going to be just the same?” He had probably been there for a while, he looked pretty at ease at referring to the old master. _

_Who smiled quizzically, probably having the time of his life at playing his part. _

_“Have a good day, you two.” One blink later, he was gone and the door was closed. _

_Jay closed his own jaw. Super strength, super speed, how old was that man? He peaked at Cole. He didn’t look less startled. _

_“Happens often?” _

_Cole huffed. _

_“You never get used to. Come on, I’ll show you how it works.” _

_“It’s a rotating mechanism, probably with an electric or vapor engine designed to sustain the heaviness of all the components.” He gave Jay the most confused look he had ever saw. “… oohh, how it works, as it how you train with it? Eheh, my bad.” Jay scratched the back of his neck. _

_Cole blinked. He made an amused smile. _

_“You sure are original, Jay Walker.” _

_Jay smiled. That was definitely his thing. _

__

“Please… work! I can’t… him… like this! Please…!!”

_He came in while they were having another conversation. Jay was confident that even with a blindfold, with his arms tied behind his back – just to add the movie touch, as much as not necessary –, he would easily recognize his own home by the noises coming from the house. Between his mom’s screwdriver and his dad’s drill, it really was a wonder how they could communicate so well. His main theory was telepathy. _

_“Dear, if we add another fusible, the dishwasher will give up on us!” _

_“But the dish of the stew needs to be cleaned at full power, honey!” _

_Even so they knew Jay had sensible ears. As soon as he closed the door, a little hard so they could hear it, the work was done. _

_Edna immediately got up. Her jacket was dripping with oil. _

_“Sweetie, you’re back!” She hugged him close, leaving bit spots on his jacket. “I started the hug, I’ll wash this. Duty is duty, after all!-. She almost ripped it off of his chest by taking it, throwing the cloth in the washing machine in one hit. _

_Her husband raised his arms in victory. He put the drill back in his tools box. _

_“Tell me everything, champ! How did it go with the wings?” _

_Jay scratched the back of his head. With one hand. The other was holding his broken invention. _

_“It worked pretty well… until I kinda bumped into a billboard. I guess I’ll have to make it more resistant, or just avoid commercialism when I wanna fly.” He shrugged. It was kinda one of his best success anyway. _

_Edna clapped. _

_“This is my baby! Took everything from his father!” _

_Ed got her close, kissing her cheek. _

_“I can’t take all the credit, sugar!” They rubbed their noses together, giggling softly. _

_Jay rolled his eyes. Who said marriage extinguished the passion? _

_“Uhm, mom? Dad? I need to tell you something… it happened right after I went against the billboard, it’s pretty important.” _

_For a miracle they stopped being all lovey-dovey. _

_Edna gave him a perplex look. Then gulped. _

_“Dear, are you hitting on someone?” _

_Jay blushed. _

_“Mom!!” _

_“It’s okay Jay, there is a time in your life when hormones…” _

_“It’s not about that, come one!! Can you please just listen, it’s important!!” He inhaled deeply. “I met this man, he said his name is Wu. It’s a little weird, but he said he’s the son of the first Spinjitzu Master, who is supposed to be the creator of all Ninjago. Nice fairy tale, huh? Anyway, he talked to me about his monastery, he said he’s recrewing some special people and he offered me to become a ninja! Yeah I know what you’re thinking, it’s not for me, I’m better with screws and bolts, physical exercise it’s not my forte, just a few years ago I was convinced martial arts were extraterrestrial sciences, and why the heck I should be a ninja when I can… uh…” Jay blinked. “… you haven’t interrupt me yet.” That was a record. _

_Edna had her hands on her cheeks, in awe, while Ed was smiling so hard it looked painful. _

_“Son, it’s been so long since you have looked this ecstatic at the thought of trying something!” _

_“You are an enthusiastic boy, but you have such a cute colored face right now! Adorable! Now you really should go and try to find a sweet soulmate for you!” _

_Jay reddened again. _

_“Mom, stop it!!” _

_Ed snickered. Then gave him a soft smile. _

_“Do you wanna be a ninja?” No mischief, no interrogation. Just will to understand. _

_Jay sighed. _

_“More than that, I wanna be helpful. Not only by inventing something that will change the world… even if that’s still on the list.” His parents nodded satisfied. “But I also want to do more! This Wu said I have something special in me, that I really can make the difference. I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t trust a stranger… but I wanna see if it’s true. See if I can leave the mark. Of course, that implies I’ll have to stay to this monastery for a while. This is why I wanted to know if you agree for me to go…” He smiled uncertainly. “Do you agree?” _

_His parents exchanged a look between each other. Again, no way to tell how they could communicate with such intensity without a word. _

_Edna embraced his son as hard as she could. _

_“You have to call! Every day! Well, maybe not, but often! Okay, honey?” _

_Jay looked at them in disbelief. Then smiled. _

_“You’re really letting me go??” _

_“If our son has a dream and a path, we’re definitely not going to be the ones that will prevent him to follow it.” His father joined as well. “In your life you’ll find yourself having to make decisions many times. But we know what you can do. You’ll be a great person, and by extent, a great ninja. And if you’ll feel like it’s not for you, you can come back anytime.” _

_Jay let himself go, hugging them with all he had. These were the exact words he needed. They knew it. They always knew how to deal with him. He felt strong. Ready. _

_They let go, but their hands were still jointed. _

_Edna gave him the sweetest look. _

_“Don’t you ever doubt, Jay. You can become an inventor, a ninja, or anything else. You’ll always be our special boy.” That day, he left for becoming a ninja. But in his heart, Jay was always at home. _

“Come… back, Jay!! P-please!! PLEASE!!"

_Like seeing the light for the first time. Not only the sunlight, everything. The shining glass of the windows. The candid covers of the bed. The wallpapers with little clouds. The ceiling. _

_The smile, tired but radiant, of his mom. _

_Lynn had tears in her eyes. She was holding him close to her chest. _

_“Hey, sparkle. I’m your mom. What a surprise, huh?” She laughed, more tears fell. “Look at you, you’re so small. Just a little sweet bundle. Who would think you will grow up and become a strong and brave ninja? Well, I do and I know. But it’s the fact that I know that got you in trouble, right?” She gently caressed his cheek. Delicate. Lovely. He wanted to grab her hand. _

_He did. His hand was tiny. He could only hold her index. _

_Lynn giggled. She cried. _

_A nice breeze came from the open window. It didn’t look like a hospital. Neither a normal place. Maybe it wasn’t even Ninjago. It didn’t matter. _

_It was just them. _

_His mother gave him a kiss on the forehead. It was soft and warm. _

_“I’m sorry. I wanted to give you the family you deserve. But things don’t always go as planned, and I promise I’ll make you’ll live a serene life until the moment comes.” She beamed at him. “But just for now, you’re here, healthy and alive. You’re the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life. And I love you. I love you, my sweet baby.” _

_Something grabbed him. He was falling backwards again. _

_Lynn’s picture was getting further. Until it was just a glimpse of her fairy beauty. _

_“My little sparkle.” _

__

“Wake up!! Wake up, Jay!!”

__

Air came back to him. The blue ninja felt like the eternity passed since he took a breath. Freshness filled his lungs. He felt good. Unbelievably good. He slowly opened his eyes. The ceiling of Borg’s laboratory. Where was he? What happened? His mind was misty and unfocused. He tried to move his arm. A little numb, but it was moving. Like his shoulder. And leg. The rest of his body. Everything was okay.

He tried to sit and managed almost too quickly, feeling dizzy.

Not enough to not recognize the coughs near him.

Kai was kneeled on his right, hands on the ground, catching desperately his breath. He was sweating terribly, like he did the worst of the effort. He slowly raised his look. As soon as they crossed their eyes, he froze.

He grabbed his shoulders.

“… I… I did it?” He was whispering, almost inaudible. “J-Jay?”

Jay looked at him, a little weirded out. He was still trying to catch his thoughts.

“What’s going on? What happened to the othe…?”

“You’re back!!” Kai laughed, but his eyes were full of tears. “I can’t believe I… you were just on the ground, I didn’t know what… I thought I… for Ninjago, I’m so glad… I can’t believe it really worked, thank goodness.” He sobbed leaning his head against the other’s shoulder. He was shaking horribly, tired and desperate.

And scared. Kai was scared.

Jay could barely move. The reality was slowly coming to pieces in his mind. His father, the kidnapping, Cole’s rescue, and then… all his life before him.

Something hit him.

“Kai… K-Kai, what happened?” He knew. But he couldn’t accept it if it didn’t came from someone he trusted. The master of fire sniffed, his eyes dark.

“We… we came here as fast as we could. We split up for covering the city, since the chimeras started attacking all over. Then Borg’s nindroids came to help, so I came to check on you guys and…” His breath became more frantic. “I thought you fainted or something, and Cole wasn’t here but you weren’t… Jay, your heart stopped. You…”

It felt like he crashed a vase against his head. The blue ninja felt the sound of it echoing again and again in his head, refusing to be fully integrated. Something so immediate, so fast.

A lightning.

Jay didn’t have tears anymore.

“… how could he…?” He tightened his lips together.

Kai took a long breath. He looked ill and incredibly bad shape, tired and beaten up, and on his shoulder a dark red spot could be seen.

He covered it with his hand.

“I guess you had this it on you. I just… I guess I panicked, and I did the only thing that came into my mind. I kinda understand better how you all felt with me.”

Jay widened his eyes. Of course, Kai’s new power! The wound was the same he got with the chimeras while he was trying to guess the password. All the pieces were coming together. So much happened while he wasn’t conscious, so much he still couldn’t grasp.

One thing was certain thought. His brother almost died to save him.

It was crazy. But in the face of what happened, Jay smiled widely and hugged close the master of fire. It was so confusing right now, and maybe in another occasion he would had freaked out like never before. But right now he was alive. They were both alive. Nothing mattered more than that.

“Thank you, Kai.”

The red ninja slowly hugged back, a deep warm embraced the both of them.

“We came here to rescue you, dumdum. No need to thank.” But from his voice, he was definitely smiling. “… do you know where Cole went?”

Jay shook his head and bit his lip. He hoped with all his heart his father didn’t hurt him.

Or worse. Now he knew that man was perfectly capable of doing everything.

“We need to find him, and my dad too! The lightning is too dangerous in his hands!”

Kai let go and looked at him in disbelief.

“Are you saying that he did this?? He has your powers??” Jay nodded slowly, Kai gave him a full look. “Wait, he did… this is why… _oh_.” His eyes were burning with rage. “He definitely won’t get away with this.” His fists burned with fire, red and bright.

Jay couldn’t find the voice to tell him not to.

“Where do you think they could b…?” A loud explosion came from the outside, shaking the all building. “… never mind.” They were back.

__ ***

It felt like coming back to his life. Outside Borg’s Tower the air was freezing, it made him widen his eyes. Every step was a pinch that made him realize how strong the oppression felt inside that building. His eyes were dry. No more tears left. He could see the digital clock from a far tower, the one of Ninjago Times. Jay could barely acknowledge just a day had passed.

He saw his entire life in there.

Kai was holding onto him. After using his power, the red ninja could barely stand up.

Trying to look around, in the devastation that the chimeras had left, they saw the green ninja running towards them. Happy and relief, but as soon as he was near them his expression changed.

“Jay, what happened to you??”

What it really so evident?

Jay didn’t answer. He tried to give him the master of fire to hold. He felt mostly okay, but inside there was a mess that was making every little step a little harder. Luckily, Lloyd immediately understand and went for it, taking an arm around his neck.

Kai winced in pain.

“I feel like I did spinjitzu twenty times in a row.”

Lloyd gave him a sympathetic look.

“Don’t worry, mom and uncle Wu are taking care of the citizens, and the chimeras left a while ago, though not sure why… but I think something happened to Cole.”

Jay felt his blood go cold.

“Please tell me my dad didn’t hurt him!! I would never forgive myself!!” His heartbeat was going crazy. No, not him, not like this.

Lloyd shook his head.

“I would be more concerned about Cliff Gordon.”

“What?”

“Something happened, Jay. I saw him and Cole breaking the window and falling on the other side of the building. And… he was completely out of himself, blinded with fury. I tried to call him, but he ignored me and kept chasing your dad. What happened up there?” His eyes were fixed and questioning.

But he already knew. Jay was crazy enough to think that every close friend, every piece of his fragmentary family felt what happened.

“… one of dad’s lightnings hit me. And since I lost my powers, I wasn’t lightning proof.”

Lloyd stiffened. He inhaled deeply, doing his best to calm himself. It wasn’t the first time the green ninja was forced to toughen up after losing a brother. 

“That was definitely the same pain.”

A strong earthquake caught them off guard. Pieces of building fell on them. Kai tried to use his fire, but he was too weak. Lloyd destroyed one fragment but couldn’t do them all at the same time.

Jay stayed still. He closed his eyes and extended one hand.

Right now, he didn’t have time to think how bad he was at focusing.

The barrier appeared so naturally he barely noticed. The pieces crushed against it, breaking in more parts and getting on the ground. He could feel the weight over his void, but he knew he could handle it. He didn’t have anything else.

Nothing but _nothing_.

He made a gesture. The void disappeared.

Kai and Lloyd were speechless. Jay didn’t have the time or the mood to brag.

“We need to find Cole!!”

All three of them started running. It was impossible not hear the quakes that were shaking all the city, and it was easy localize the origin, they lived together too long for not knowing how. Getting closer, they could see the road getting worse, all destroyed. Little stones were flying everywhere. It was like running towards the center of a cataclysm. Then, the roars of lightning were added. For every thunder, a deep quake managed to get stronger every time.

The blue ninja speeded up. He knew he was letting the others behind, especially Kai. Right now, though, he couldn’t wait. His mind was creating all the possible scenarios in his head, all the worst ends for his best friend. He felt like flying he was running that anxiously.

When Jay saw him, the world stopped. He knew him. His best friend, part of his family. Being together for so long he was convinced he saw him in his best and worst.

But never, never at this limit.

So focused he was more human than ghost. Rocks kept breaking and reforming around him. His fists were so clenched that even from that distance Jay could see his white knuckles. But his face was another thing. Almost possessed. Every tract of him was tensed. He was gritting his teeth like an animal. His eyes were firm, focused, in a bright orange pulsing of energy. His cheeks were socked with tears. Real, human tears.

Cliff was not far, looking at his opponent with superiority. Even so he was covered with bruises and scratches everywhere. His appearance of an elegant man was completely gone.

“I thought you were attacking me, not your beloved city.”

Cole roared. The piece of rock near Cliff exploded.

“You don’t deserve that power.” His voice was husky, didn’t sound like him. “You don’t deserve to be here. You… you don’t deserve to be alive instead of him!!” Another powerful earthquake.

Cliff lost his balance. He hit the ground with his elbow, already dirty. Without losing his smile he got up, like he couldn’t feel anything else but pride.

“Why wasting this power? The original owner is gone. I didn’t expect that destiny for Jason. But now that he’s no more, I have every intention to keep _my_ powers. So, about the earth…” He shot a lightning. The fastest, most powerful Jay had ever seen. Faster than his. He got better, too much. Too soon.

Cole didn’t blink. He raised a hand. His orange eyes pulsed. The lightning was destroyed before reaching him. For the first time, Cliff looked startled. Jay couldn’t blame him.

The master of earth gave him a stern look.

“Ten years, Gordon. You’re not even halfway there.”

He summoned a giant rock with an unbelievable speed. Like a piece of mountain. In a scream, Cole threw it, and again his eyes shined. The rock crushed on itself, and the thousands of fragments covered entirely Cliff. The actor shouted, getting buried alive.

Cole didn’t stop. He walked towards him, every step was a quake.

He wanted to finish him.

Jay gulped. He spent too much time doing nothing. That was wrong, he wasn’t himself right now. killing him? Cole was going to regret it horribly.

Jay didn’t think, he just let the void work for him. Again, so naturally, a transparent wall appeared between the black ninja and Cliff. Cole bumped on it. He gulped, but his vision was blinded by anger. He roared, punching it with all his strength. He wasn’t trying to understand, all that he wanted was to go on. Vent his anger. His hits were powerful, but Jay held on tight, his hands tingling slightly.

The master of earth charged screaming. He even bumped his head against it, again and again, desperate but getting weaker at every hit. The last scream, the most heartbreaking one, being so close to the barrier let a few tears dropping on it. Jay could feel them, somehow. Warm. Sad.

Cole fell on his knees, fists on the wall, sobbing desperately.

“Why… it’s not f-fair…!!” Another punch, the last one. “… sorry… p-please, Jay, forgive me!!”

Jay felt a lung in his throat. He let the wall down. Cole didn’t realize it, keep venting on himself, slowly getting back to his ghostly form.

Jay got closer, lowering near him. He put a hand on his shoulder.

Cole didn’t move.

“Did I scare the mighty Cole?”

Cole gasped, his all body shivering. He turned his head towards the voice. Slowly. His eyes were wide open. Not orange anymore. Unbelieving. His forehead was bleeding. His cheeks were still human. So were his tears. As soon as they crossed looks, he gulped. His hands were shaking.

“J… Jay…?”

The blue ninja smiled softly at him.

“Who else if not…?” Being hold with such a strength felt like incredibly reassuring. Like he was a treasure, someone special to protect. They were wrecked, fighting for their lives, in the middle of the ruins of their city once again. And yet, it was like hiding against a warm blanket to avoid nightmares. So caring tears were silently coming back.

Cole was shaking badly, his sobs loud from his throat.

“You’re an idiot!! A g-gigantic idiot!! I… I…” He tightened his embrace. “I’m sorry!! I’m so sorry, Jay!! It’s my fault!! I-I promised to watch your back, but I lost you instead! It’s all my fault!! It’s always my fault!!” He pressed his face against the other’s shoulder, trying to catch his breath. “But you’re here… you’re really are here. You’re here with me, Jay, thank goodness.” He sniffed, physically unable to let go.

Jay closed his eyes, hugging back, taking on himself every shivering of his broken soul. He never wanted to make him feel this way. It was reassuring. He was alive.

Everything was good now.

Kai and Lloyd reached them, as soon as Cole managed to let go. He was back into ghost form, his face was tired but relaxed. Freed from the anger that possessed him before.

Jay sighed in relief.

“… you made quite the mess.” The area around Borg’s Tower was completely crashed.

Cole lowered his gaze.

“I don’t know how. I mean, I know how to control earthquakes, but this much? I just… wanted to make him pay.” He looked at his own hands, like he didn’t recognize them.

The red ninja let go of the green one, managing to walk on his own even if slowly. He put a hand on the master of earth’s shoulder.

“Let’s solve this situation first.” He looked at the pile of ground nearby. “He’s still there. We can’t leave him be.”

Jay lowered his gaze, ashamed.

Suddenly, the roar of a dragon caught their attention. The titanium dragon landed after finding a good spot. Zane jumped on the ground, looking visibly anxious.

“I may have found a solution. But it might not be pleasant.”

A powerful lightning pushed away the ground. Cliff got up, so charged even his hair were up and electrified. His eyes were shining, he wasn’t trying to hide himself anymore. His sick smile got wider, seeing all the four main ninja and the green one in front of him. On his hands there were light burns. The power was too much, especially for himself.

Jay felt himself trapped. His chest hurt. His brothers were with him. But he knew, looking at his dad’s mad eyes, this couldn’t end well.

In that moment the clock ringed the midnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought it was over? Think again! :P
> 
> This chapter came out mostly by itself, especially Jay's allucinations. It's something that I've always found extremely fascinated about writing, you could have a precise idea of what you wanna write down, but most of the time while you create it will become something else. It's like the lines are alive.
> 
> DONE WITH THE PROFESSIONAL TALK, LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS!  
> This story recently reached over 30 kudos, thank you all so much! I really cherish every single one, since the story started with few and slowly grew up! I'm really proud <3 So, I'm sure you all figured out the ship at this point, but I'll still hold the talk for next chapter because it's gonna be important  
> Well then, I don't wanna get into details with the chapter because we're not over yet and I want to enjoy this situation of uncertainty while it last. Right when I have all the answers, and still need to show them to you
> 
> Well guys, this is it! Hope you like it, leave a comment, a kudos or a funny face /)_- (Idk why I love this facepalm XD)  
> See ya!! Byee!!
> 
> P.S. Let me know if there are errors, yadda yadda, HAVE YOU WATCHED THE LAST EPISODE OF SEASON 10!! HOLY GARMADON THAT WAS INTENSE!! What can I say, Ninjago still knows how to mess with my heart ^ ^

**Author's Note:**

> Hello fellas!! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! ^ ^  
> To be honest, the concept of Jay not seeing that famous reflection always fascinated me. He said it himself, he was fine until he saw it. And since in this world he didn't, or couldn't (I might write a short fic about it one day) see it, my mad mind came out with a little something to make sure there's still someone plotting evilly behind their backs ^^"  
> I'm gonna tell it right away, there’s only one full OC in this fic.  
> Most of the "originals" I added: already appeared in the show, so I just gave them a name, or their name appeared, and I just created a character based on that. Nothing else. I wanted to use existing characters as much as possible, since there's still a lot to talk about even without half of the seasons ;)  
> About ships, I have something in mind. Tell you right away it won't be Greenflame, because here Kai and Lloyd are just best bros (love my babies ^ ^), but there is one. It's just not the main part of the story, for now, and will be really evident just at the end. Any guess for now? <3  
> Thanks for reading, see you next chapter!!  
> See ya!! byee!!
> 
> P.S. Since I'm not English, please tell me if I make errors, I'm always learning ^ ^


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